I had a really good day at the Temple yesterday. It felt great to be there, my family was there, The Little Jewess was happy, everything was good. I'm not sure I can give all that up, which means two things:
1) I need to find a way to develop a community that is either within the Temple or in addition to it, and
2) I need to find a way to live with integrity within the Temple.
You may have noticed that this blog is anonymous and (thus far) has no followers. That's partly because I don't need to be broadcasting my identity all over the internet, and The Little Jewess deserves some privacy. (Mr. Jewess is a grown-up and can deal with the consequences of marrying me, one of which is existential blogging.) But it's partly because I worry what might happen if it got out in my current congregation, where individual relationship with God is the understood norm, that I'm a Humanist. Would people still trust me? Would I be able to pray in public (do I want to?) Would my every action be judged?
There's already some stuff that's making me uncomfortable. For example, I've decided I'm not going to bow to a God I don't believe in. But I don't think most people notice or care. But if I came out, they might. And I feel uncomfortable about the God language in services and in Religious School. Even little things--yesterday, a teacher was teaching about Jews around the world, and she said, "Wherever they are, they say the same blessings to start Shabbat," and she began the traditional blessings. I felt like saying, "Wait! Stop! What about the Reconstructionists? And the Humanists? And the Jews who don't know the blessings and the Jews who write their own blessings and the Jews who don't say any blessings?"
Can I say that? What would happen if I did?
I guess I'm uncomfortable with that statement anyway, said to a class of children who mostly don't say blessings on Friday night. How can you tell a class of Jewish kids, "This is what Jews do," when you know THEY don't do it? It's like telling them they're not Jews. Other times, I feel like that is their parents' problem. Inevitably, these kids are going to ask why they're there, and the parents are going to have to answer. When The Little Jewess comes home saying "Jews do this," or "Jews do that, and why don't we?" I tell her that we're Reform Jews and we make our own choices. I've also told her that we're Jewish Humanists, so I guess I can rely on that in the future as needed. But I need a way to explain the differences to her so that she can live with it as she grows and also understand the choices she will have to make later.
Maybe what I need is more a support group than a Congregation. I have a Congregation, and there are a lot of things I do like about it. But a basic disconnect on the issue of God is kind of a big deal.
Suggestions?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sigh
Today was the day I was going to check out Torah Study. Instead I'm at home, in my pajamas. So far I ate pancakes (thanks, Mr. Jewess!) and helped The Little Jewess with her homework. Now she wants to watch Cake Boss together. How can I even feel guilty about missing Torah Study? I'd feel more guilty about missing this.
I know I'd feel good if I went to Torah Study or a service on Shabbat mornings. But on the other hand, Saturday is our day to laze around and just hang out as a family. Sometimes I think the Christians have the right idea, having Sunday School at the same time as services. The Jewish model takes up the whole weekend.
I guess this is why so few people strike out and make change. The status quo is so much easier. Which brings me back to: sigh.
I know I'd feel good if I went to Torah Study or a service on Shabbat mornings. But on the other hand, Saturday is our day to laze around and just hang out as a family. Sometimes I think the Christians have the right idea, having Sunday School at the same time as services. The Jewish model takes up the whole weekend.
I guess this is why so few people strike out and make change. The status quo is so much easier. Which brings me back to: sigh.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
What am I looking for, anyway?
People keep asking me what my ideal congregation would look like. I guess I should take a stab at it.
1. A vibrant community I'd like to find a multi-generational community where people care about each other and the congregation. It would be nice if most of the people were middle-class and not ostentatious. I want The Little Jewess to learn that who you're with is more important than what you spend. And I'd like a core group of people who attend regularly that I could get to know and depend upon.
2. Liberal Values I want to celebrate with the 99%. One thing that draws me to Humanism is their stance on human dignity. I'd like a congregation where people are committed to social justice, and active in pursuing dignity for all people.
3. Science Rational thought is essential. I've always taken a rational approach to religion. It's part of being a Progressive. But now that I don't believe in God, a strong belief in science and the ability to apply reason to religious text and tradition is that much more important to me.
4. School I have a background in Education as well as Religion, so I judge schools very critically. The Little Jewess needs to be in a school (and we're talking Sunday School here--she's all set with secular school) where she is encouraged to think and to question. I want her to grow up feeling secure in her community, but also free to think, argue, discuss and question religious texts. I believe this is the best way to combat fundamentalism, and it's also the best way to be happy. Because we can only make good choices if we've thought through all of the possibilities. If we're slaves to doctrine, we can't do that.
5. Judaism I've been thinking about this one a lot. I have a few friends who are also seeking the right community, but who aren't Jewish, or are in mixed marriages. They might join me in forming something if it's not Jewish or not solely Jewish. It's a possibility I'm willing to consider, but I've always been Jewish, it's what I know best, and it's what brings me comfort. Also, I don't want to stop identifying as a Jew. There are so many aspects to Judaism, and God is such a small part of that. I think the ideal congregation would be fundamentally Jewish, but I wouldn't mind a community that is open to people of other faiths and I definitely wouldn't mind if the Kid School teaches about other religions.
Is that so hard to find? Does anyone know where I can find it? Or is it time to start making it myself?
On that note, a friend mentioned to me the possibility of creating a chavurah (literally: fellowship, but usually a chavurah functions as a prayer group that travels from home to home, like a book club for celebrating Shabbat.) while maintaining membership in a brick-and-mortar Temple for things that we need there, like Religious School. It's an interesting idea, and it's something that could even be done within a congregation. Or it's something I could do with my non-Jewish friends (see above) while maintaining the link to my current (or another) congregation for the Jewish stuff.
1. A vibrant community I'd like to find a multi-generational community where people care about each other and the congregation. It would be nice if most of the people were middle-class and not ostentatious. I want The Little Jewess to learn that who you're with is more important than what you spend. And I'd like a core group of people who attend regularly that I could get to know and depend upon.
2. Liberal Values I want to celebrate with the 99%. One thing that draws me to Humanism is their stance on human dignity. I'd like a congregation where people are committed to social justice, and active in pursuing dignity for all people.
3. Science Rational thought is essential. I've always taken a rational approach to religion. It's part of being a Progressive. But now that I don't believe in God, a strong belief in science and the ability to apply reason to religious text and tradition is that much more important to me.
4. School I have a background in Education as well as Religion, so I judge schools very critically. The Little Jewess needs to be in a school (and we're talking Sunday School here--she's all set with secular school) where she is encouraged to think and to question. I want her to grow up feeling secure in her community, but also free to think, argue, discuss and question religious texts. I believe this is the best way to combat fundamentalism, and it's also the best way to be happy. Because we can only make good choices if we've thought through all of the possibilities. If we're slaves to doctrine, we can't do that.
5. Judaism I've been thinking about this one a lot. I have a few friends who are also seeking the right community, but who aren't Jewish, or are in mixed marriages. They might join me in forming something if it's not Jewish or not solely Jewish. It's a possibility I'm willing to consider, but I've always been Jewish, it's what I know best, and it's what brings me comfort. Also, I don't want to stop identifying as a Jew. There are so many aspects to Judaism, and God is such a small part of that. I think the ideal congregation would be fundamentally Jewish, but I wouldn't mind a community that is open to people of other faiths and I definitely wouldn't mind if the Kid School teaches about other religions.
Is that so hard to find? Does anyone know where I can find it? Or is it time to start making it myself?
On that note, a friend mentioned to me the possibility of creating a chavurah (literally: fellowship, but usually a chavurah functions as a prayer group that travels from home to home, like a book club for celebrating Shabbat.) while maintaining membership in a brick-and-mortar Temple for things that we need there, like Religious School. It's an interesting idea, and it's something that could even be done within a congregation. Or it's something I could do with my non-Jewish friends (see above) while maintaining the link to my current (or another) congregation for the Jewish stuff.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Oh, dear.
So yesterday I got to meet with an actual Humanistic Jew. A Rabbi, even. He was really nice--he invited me into his home to talk and gave me more than an hour of his time. It was a truly interesting conversation.
His congregation has been around for almost 20 years, and they're fairly large and well-established for a Humanistic congregation. Being in a big city definitely helps. Their motto is "Say what you believe and believe what you say." The upshot of that is that their services are completely nontheistic. They've rewritten many prayers and taken most of them out, but kept the traditional format of things. For example, rather than the traditional candle blessing:
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us the mitzvoth and commanded us to kindle lights for Shabbat.
They say:
Radiant is the light within the world.
Radiant is the light within each person.
Radiant is the light of the Shabbat.
I was right there with him for most of the conversation. They've written some new songs that fit their beliefs, re-written some others, and they also use popular songs and melodies. There is a great deal of choice in the congregation--for example, although there is a standard book used for B'nai Mitzvot, each family chooses the readings and songs that feel right for them. Also, each child researches his or her family history and does a mitzvah project and a research project, all of which are presented at the B'nai Mitzvah ceremony.
But he lost me on Torah. At this congregation, they do not read or discuss Torah at Shabbat services. They don't teach Hebrew to the children at Kid School (which meets only two afternoons a month, as opposed to 8 classes a month at a typical Reform congregation and as many as 12 at some Conservative Temples.) And although they do teach both Torah and Talmud at Kid School, this is done as literature only. They do not revere the Torah as an object or as a book at all.
This makes some sense for Humanists. After all, they don't believe in God and they believe in the primacy of Humanity and scientific thought. Why would they put jewels on a book, or kiss it, or dance with it? After all, it's just a book, right?
But for Jews, it's not just a book. Well, for me it's not. That book contains our heritage. It contains the wisdom of ancient generations. It contains the laws we've been following for thousands of years. Now, I don't think it was written by God, either. I'm sure it was written by humans. But I think it deserves at least as much respect as the Constitution. And to me, dancing with the Torah is part of being a Jew. I don't think I can give it up. More importantly, wrestling with that text is the right and responsibility of Jews. Just like The United States has to deal with a Constitution that includes slavery and disenfranchises women and doesn't anticipate the Internet and the Gay Rights Movement, Jews have to wrestle with a legal text that is over a thousand years old and can't be amended.
The Torah is also what kept Jews alive through the Middle Ages. It's the reason Jews were literate. It's the reason we survived the Bubonic Plague (Jews were the only people who washed hands before eating.) It's the reason Jews could be moneylenders when the Church outlawed interest. So even though I'm a Humanist, I want to keep studying Torah, and not just as literature. Parts of it are literature. Other parts are history--we've got archeological evidence to prove that. And lots and lots of it is legal text. So studying it as literature would seem to me to leave a lot of it out, and the parts left out are the parts that make us different from other cultures.
If anyone out there has advice at this point, I'd love to hear it. My next two agenda items are:
1) Check out the Torah Study at my current congregation. The Rabbi seems to think it might have what I need. It's certainly worth a try.
2) Spend some more time at the Reconstructionist congregation. I've been invited to see a Bat Mitzvah that's coming up in a few weeks, which should be interesting.
3) Look for the local Humanist (not Jewish) group that meets here in town.
His congregation has been around for almost 20 years, and they're fairly large and well-established for a Humanistic congregation. Being in a big city definitely helps. Their motto is "Say what you believe and believe what you say." The upshot of that is that their services are completely nontheistic. They've rewritten many prayers and taken most of them out, but kept the traditional format of things. For example, rather than the traditional candle blessing:
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us the mitzvoth and commanded us to kindle lights for Shabbat.
They say:
Radiant is the light within the world.
Radiant is the light within each person.
Radiant is the light of the Shabbat.
I was right there with him for most of the conversation. They've written some new songs that fit their beliefs, re-written some others, and they also use popular songs and melodies. There is a great deal of choice in the congregation--for example, although there is a standard book used for B'nai Mitzvot, each family chooses the readings and songs that feel right for them. Also, each child researches his or her family history and does a mitzvah project and a research project, all of which are presented at the B'nai Mitzvah ceremony.
But he lost me on Torah. At this congregation, they do not read or discuss Torah at Shabbat services. They don't teach Hebrew to the children at Kid School (which meets only two afternoons a month, as opposed to 8 classes a month at a typical Reform congregation and as many as 12 at some Conservative Temples.) And although they do teach both Torah and Talmud at Kid School, this is done as literature only. They do not revere the Torah as an object or as a book at all.
This makes some sense for Humanists. After all, they don't believe in God and they believe in the primacy of Humanity and scientific thought. Why would they put jewels on a book, or kiss it, or dance with it? After all, it's just a book, right?
But for Jews, it's not just a book. Well, for me it's not. That book contains our heritage. It contains the wisdom of ancient generations. It contains the laws we've been following for thousands of years. Now, I don't think it was written by God, either. I'm sure it was written by humans. But I think it deserves at least as much respect as the Constitution. And to me, dancing with the Torah is part of being a Jew. I don't think I can give it up. More importantly, wrestling with that text is the right and responsibility of Jews. Just like The United States has to deal with a Constitution that includes slavery and disenfranchises women and doesn't anticipate the Internet and the Gay Rights Movement, Jews have to wrestle with a legal text that is over a thousand years old and can't be amended.
The Torah is also what kept Jews alive through the Middle Ages. It's the reason Jews were literate. It's the reason we survived the Bubonic Plague (Jews were the only people who washed hands before eating.) It's the reason Jews could be moneylenders when the Church outlawed interest. So even though I'm a Humanist, I want to keep studying Torah, and not just as literature. Parts of it are literature. Other parts are history--we've got archeological evidence to prove that. And lots and lots of it is legal text. So studying it as literature would seem to me to leave a lot of it out, and the parts left out are the parts that make us different from other cultures.
If anyone out there has advice at this point, I'd love to hear it. My next two agenda items are:
1) Check out the Torah Study at my current congregation. The Rabbi seems to think it might have what I need. It's certainly worth a try.
2) Spend some more time at the Reconstructionist congregation. I've been invited to see a Bat Mitzvah that's coming up in a few weeks, which should be interesting.
3) Look for the local Humanist (not Jewish) group that meets here in town.
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.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Why Humanism?
One of the first things I did after discovering Humanistic Judaism was to read the book Good Without God by Rabbi Greg M. Epstein. He's a Humanistic Rabbi and the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard. What I took from it is the idea that Humanists apply reason to all things, including religion, and that Humanists believe in dignity for all people. I like those ideas.
I want to be part of a religion that encourages thought and reason, and I believe it's part of being good to fight for what is right. "Dignity for all people" is a bit of a vague concept, but it is a standard against which to consider ethical dilemmas. One can clearly see that gay marriage needs to be legal in order to allow gay people the same dignity as straight people. Or that discrimination on the basis of gender or race is wrong. It makes a good lesson for the Little Jewess--a way for her to examine her own actions when she encounters difficult decisions as she grows up.
And I like that as a Humanist I can keep being Jewish and use the texts of my heritage as a starting point. As Jews, we have centuries of ethical and theological discussions that have been written down. We can read and study them and then come to our own conclusions. I'd like to find a community to help me do that.
I want to be part of a religion that encourages thought and reason, and I believe it's part of being good to fight for what is right. "Dignity for all people" is a bit of a vague concept, but it is a standard against which to consider ethical dilemmas. One can clearly see that gay marriage needs to be legal in order to allow gay people the same dignity as straight people. Or that discrimination on the basis of gender or race is wrong. It makes a good lesson for the Little Jewess--a way for her to examine her own actions when she encounters difficult decisions as she grows up.
And I like that as a Humanist I can keep being Jewish and use the texts of my heritage as a starting point. As Jews, we have centuries of ethical and theological discussions that have been written down. We can read and study them and then come to our own conclusions. I'd like to find a community to help me do that.
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