60 Questions Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs and Practices

Cotet

Pree 9 Part 1

Judaism Judais m and Jewish Practice

1. Are there Jewih deomitio? 13 2. Wht i Hidi Judim? 25 3. Wht i the Orl Lw? 30 4. Wht i the kh? 34 5. Wht extly i met y the term orah orah?? 39 6. Wht i the Moreti text? 42 7. Wht re the holy ook o Judim? 45 8. Wht re the mi dieree etwee Judim d Chritiity? 49 9. Wht do Jewih people thik out Jeu? 54 10. Do the Jewih people expet  literl Me Meih? ih? 57 11. Do Jew reer to God y the me o Jehovh? 60 12. Wht i met y the term kosher ? 64 13. Why do trditiol Jew hve eprte dihe i their kithe or met produt d diry produt? 67 14. Why do trditiol Jew light dle t the egiig o the Sth? 71 15. Why do do’t ’t trditio trditioll Jew drive o the Sth? 79 16. Why do trditiol Jewih me wer  kullp (lled yarmulke or, i Herew, kippah kippah)? )? 81 5

Cotet

17. Why do trditiol Jewih wome wer wig (or eve hve their hed)? 84 18. Why do ome Jewih me grow log ide url? 86 19. Why do ome Jewih me wer white rige outide o their hirt? 88 20. Why do trditiol Jewih me pry with lk oxe (lled (lle d phylterie phyl terie or, i Herew, Herew, tefllin tefllin)) o their hed d rm? 92 21. Wht re the little oxe (mezuzh) o the doorwy o Orthodox Ortho dox Jewih home? 95 22. Why do ome religiou Jewih me wer log lk ot? 97 23. Why do trditiol Jew lim tht Jewih deet i mtriliel (i.e., omig through through the mother) rther th ptriliel (i.e., omig through the ther)? 99 24. Are there relly 613 ommdmet i the orh? 102 25. Wht re the eve lw o Noh? 106 Part 2

Te Jewish People and Jewish Histo History ry

26. Wht i the origi o the term Jew term Jew,, d  Jew tody relly tre their liege k to the Jewih people o the Bile? 112 27. Wht re the e Lot rie rie o Irel? 115 28. Are Are the Smrit relly Jew? 120 29. Who re the Krite? 123 30. Why hve Jewih people ee o hted d pereuted through the eturie? 128 31. Do otemporry Jew wt to reuild the emple? 135 32. H there ee  otiuou preee o Jew i the ld o Irel or the lt two thoud yer? 139 33. Should ll Jew move k to Irel? 140 6

Cotet

34. Are the Pletii deedt o the iet Cite? 143 35. I the Bile, i the g tree  propheti ymol or Irel? 149 Part 3

Rabbi Yeshua and the Jewish Background to the New estament

36. W W  Jeu relly  ri? 154 37. Did Jeu ollow the Orl Lw? 155 38. Wht i the origil origi l Herew Herew me or Jeu? Ad i it true tht the me Jeu (Greek Iēsous Iēsous)) i relly  pg orruptio o the me Zeu? 160 39. Wht lguge did Jeu d the potle pek? 165 40. W the New etmet etmet origilly origi lly writte i i Herew? 169 41. W the New etmet etmet origilly origi lly writte i i Armi? 175 42. Wht re ome exmple o the Jewih kgroud to the New et etmet? met? 180 43. Wht doe it me to “retore the Jewih root” o the Chriti ith? 187 44. W Pul relly  eduted Jew who kew ke w the Herew lguge well? 190 45. Did the Jew relly kill Jeu? 195 Part 4

Contemporary Christians, the Law of Moses and the State of Israel

46. Did Jeu olih the Lw? 202 47. Did Pul olih the Lw? 208 48. Should Should Chriti keep the Lw? 213 49. Should Chriti Chriti  oer oerve ve the Sth o Sturdy? 219 7

Cotet

50. Should Chriti dhere to the dietry lw? 224 51. Should Chriti Chriti oerve the ilil Jewih holidy? 226 52. Wht i the dieree etwee Pover d Eter? 230 53. Are Getile Chriti Chriti  piritul Jew? 233 54. Wht i the “wo Houe Teory”? 238 55. Wht i the dieree etwee  Meii Jew d  Herew Chriti Chriti? ? 244 56. Are Meii Jewih leder relly ri? 246 57. I it good or Chriti to tted Jewih ygogue? 252 58. Should Chriti uoditiolly upport the tio o Irel? 254 59. Wht did Pul me whe he id tht “ll Irel will e ved”? 264 60. Did God mke  peil wy or Jew to e ved without elievig elievi g i Jeu? 269 Note 275 Idex 297

8

Are there Jewish denominations?

1

Jewish denominations do not exist in exatly the same way that Christian denominations exist. Tere are, however, three main branches o Judaism: Reorm, Conservative Conservat ive and Ortho Orthodox, dox, Reorm eing the most lieral and Orthodox eing the most traditional. Further subdivisions include Reconstructionis Reconstructionistt Judaim, whih i to the le o Reorm Judim, d ultr-Orthodox Judim (iludig Hidi Judim), whih i the right wig o Orthodox Judim. Beore omprig the elie d prtie o the three mi branches o Judaism, Judaism, let us take ta ke a moment to review the historical development o Orthodox, Conservative and Reorm Judaism. Although eah o these three ranhes laims to e true to the pirit o the iet ri (jut  the vriou Chriti group laim to e true to the spirit o Jesus and the apostles), rom a historical perspective, Reorm Judaism, which is sometimes called Lierl or Progreive Judim, emerged   ditit, omewht humanistic reaction against Orthodox Or thodox Judaism roughly two hunhundred years ago, while Conservative Judaism developed out o Orthodox Judim roughly oe hudred yer go, ut i ler otrt with Reorm Judim. o briey sketch the history o these t hese three movements, Reorm Judaism arose in Germany in the early 1800s as Jews egan to 13

60 Quetio Chriti Chrit i Ak Aout Jewih Belie d Prtie

rek wy rom trditiol prtie, elievig tht thee were now antiquated and irrelevant. As noted in Te Oxord Dictionary o the Jewish Religion, Religion, “It hitori origi were motivted le y theologial or ideologial attitudes than y a desire or a more ttrtive orm o ervie tht would ppel to Jew who were i dger o droppig out o Judim ompletely.” 1 I the eye o the erly Reorm leder, Judim hd to mke itel relevt to  elighteed people livig i  elighteed age, and rather than risk the complete assimilation o their people,  ew expreio o Judim hd to e developed, devel oped, oe tht iorported umerou hge. Tee hge iluded ygogue being called temples temples;; prayer books using the vernacular language and not just Herew; sermons eing preahed in German; and musical (specically (specic ally,, organ) accompaniment being added to publi worship—all o whih onstituted radical departures rom the trditio, trditio tht were oidered rot y the religious Jewish ommunity. Suh innovations, thereore, were trogly oppoed. Not urpriigly, withi  irly hort period o time, deeper theological and ideological dierences began to arise, and Reorm Jews began to distinguish between what they elt were the eternal, truly inspired aspects o the Bible and rabbinic traditions, such as the ethical ethica l teaching o the prophets and the importance o the Jewih ledr, d thoe lw d utom ut om tht they oidered to be “products o a particular particu lar age”2—and were thereore outmoded, outdted d potetilly emrrig—uh  the ilil purity lw, werig hed overig d the olute umiio to rabbinic authority. authority. In keeping with this, the Reorm motto, speakig i term o the ilil ommdmet, evetully eme “guide, ot govere,” refetig the Reorm poitio tht ilil d rii lw mut e  e evluted y hum judgmet d otemporry method o tudy (uh  the ritil redig o red text). 14

Judim d Jewih Prtie

Ad, where trditiol Judim oe ut utioed ioed et whe isolated rom modern culture, Reorm Judaism sought to interact with and even learn rom  rom modern culture. Te Jews were coming out o the ghetto ow, d they hd to get i tep with the pirit o the age. In act, even the idea o being the chosen people whose homeld w i Irel w oidered oeive to my, ie it mde them uperior to the tio ( oppoed to et with  miio to the tio),    well  lie i their t heir ow outry outr y. I act, a ounda oundational tional document o Reorm Judaism, the Pittsburgh Platorm o 1885, stated that the t he mission o Judaism was to “solve “solve o the i o righteoue d jutie the prolem preeted y . . . the preet orgiztio o oi oiety ety..”3 Te Reorm leaders taught that the Jewish people pe ople should live as permet itize i their outrie rther th  lie logig or their etrl ld, doig my o thoe ritul elements that marked them out rom others. 4 In short, this was “a religious movement advoating the modiying o Orthodox trditio i oormig with the exigeie exige ie o otemporr otemporryy lie and thought.”5 Some Reorm ongregations even went as ar as worhipig o Sudy rther th Sturdy! All this was met with absolute scorn by traditional Jewish leaders, who not only opposed these thes e innovations but sought to outlaw the opeig o Reorm houe o worhip. It would ot e hrd to imgie how the trditiol Jewih ommuity reted to the ew tht  dier i ojutio ojut io with the grdutio eremoy o the rst Reorm seminary in America in 1883 included shrimp— something absolutely orbidden by Jewish Jewish dietary dietar y laws (see #12).6 Ti w the horror o horror. It i thereore udertdle tht, i the dy ledig up to the Holoaust, when anti-Jewish laws were eing passed, some Orthodox rabbis actually pointed to Reorm Judaism as a primary primar y cause o the disaster disaster,, arguing that t hat the Reorm movement, birthed in Germany Germ any,, had led to the assimilation assimilati on o many many Jews into secular 15


ulture and to the aandoning o time-honored praties suh  Sth oerve. A expreed i the 1930 i Te Israelit ewpper: We ourelve re to lme tht we hve y prolem. Whe the ghetto gte ell [meig whe Jew ould redily eome prt o the soiety at large] . . . it was our duty to demonstrate that Jew remi wre o their peil hrter eve whe w he they re granted the opportunity to pursue the development o their exterl irumte o lie uimpeded—tht they do ot do the wy o lie ed o the tehig d preept o the orh. orh. Jews could have shown the entire world that it is certainly cert ainly possible to quire the treure o ulture uh  rt d iee without aandoning the Jewish way o lie. We have missed that opportunity o attaining a synthesis etween Judaism and its eternal orms on the one hand, and the cultural assets o the surrounding world o the other.7

Tis indiates learly how passionately Orthodox Jews elt out orkig their trditio. trd itio. For them, it pelled othig le th deth d detrutio. Conservative Judaism was ar less reationary than Reorm Judaism, seeking “to onserve tradition in the modern setting, hene the name o the movement, Conservative Judaism.” 8 As explied y Loel M. Wei, Wei,  Coervtive Coer vtive ri, “Coervtive (Positive-Histo (Posi tive-Historical) rical) Juda Judaism ism began, not as a break with traditional practice but rather with a break with the t he traditional way o looking at our historial texts.” 9 So, Jewish law was onsidered to e o gret importe, ut ie holr were ow redig the Bile and the classic Jewish texts through critical eyes, the traditions tr aditions did ot rry the t he me weight or Coervtive Jew  or Orthodox Jews. Everything, Everything, in a sense, had to be processed through the lens o historical, critical scholarshi scholarship. p. As explained in Te Oxord Dictionary tiona ry o the Jewish Religion, Religion, “Since the Conservative movement saw Judaism as a dynami, developing tradition pratied y a 16


people, it heitted, i otrt to the Reorm movemet, whih, in 1885 and 1937 issued platorms, to draw sharp ideologial lie . . . [tht] would ot oly e outerprodutive ut utrue to the hitoril relitie o trditio.”10 So the, i otrt with Reorm Judim, the Coervtive movemet reogized the tity o the trditio ut rgued that they had more o a historical, human, albeit divinely guided development—which meant more o an ongoing , fexible developmet. Ad rom the viewpoit o Coervtive Jew, Orthodox tradition had eome too rigid and inexile, ailing to adapt the iet trditio to the moder world d ilig to red ritilly the t he iet, red text. A expreed y Ri Joeph eluhki, o thi dy dy,, Coervtive Coer vtive Judim trike  middle rod etwee Reorm and Orthodox Judaism. Unlike Unlike Reorm, it considers itsel oud y lmot ll orh ritul  well  orh orh ethi; ulike u like Orthodoxy, it onsiders itsel ree to introdue innovations in Jewih lw, prtiulrly the lw ormulted i the lmud. 11

I otrt, rom the viewpoit o Orthodox Jew, there h lwy ee d there remi tody oly oe true Judim, the Judaism Judais m they believe was handed down in unbro unbroken ken orm through the geertio rom Moe util tody (ee #3). Orthodox Jew would argue that they alone aithully adhere to the ancient traditio, whih they ept  idig d ot optiol, optiol, lo otig tht eore the rie o Reorm Judim, there w o uh thig  “Orthodox. “Ortho dox.” I other word, either you were  religiou Jew or you were not. And i you were religious, you ollowed the rabbinic trditio, meig meig tht, rom  Orthodox perpetive, p erpetive, ll pt religiou Jew, iludig the iet ri, were “Orthodox.” Eve withi Orthodox Ortho dox Judim, however, however, there i  right wig and a le wing, the ormer reusing to yield in any way to modern “elighteed” thikig, d the ltter dherig tritly to ll the 17


oudtio o Orthodoxy (uh  Sth oerve d the oudtio dietry lw) ut eig muh more iorported ito the lrger culture. Te right wing is called ultra-Orthodox or Haredi (meaning “trembling beore God”12) while the le wing is called Modern Orthodox. Te right wing does not recognize either Conservativ C onservativee or Reorm Judaism as legitimate expressions o Judaism in any wy. For the trog proouemet o the ultr-Orthodox rii oitio lled Agudth Irel, ee #57. Wht re the dieree i the elie d prtie pr tie o OrthoOrt hodox, Conservative Conser vative and Reorm Jews? o o highlight highlig ht the dierences, I will drw the otrt etwee key re tht divide Orthodox and Reorm (understanding that Conservative Judaism takes a somewhat middle position, although in pratie, it is loser to Reorm), deriig thig i geerlized term.

Scripture Orthodox :

Te Tanakh (what Christians all the Old estament) is God’ G od’ss perect, per ect, inspired, authoritative Word, with the orh oupyig the highet level o uthority. Wht God commands, to the extent ex tent it can be ollowed today, is required o ll Jew. (I other word, oerve i mdtory.)

anakh is an inspired Reform: Te anakh

yet imperect imperec t human product, o special importance in moral and ethical matters. Te Sriptures help shape our national identity and alling as Jews, but the orah orah commands provide guidance gu idance rather rathe r than govere. (I other word, oerve i optiol.)

Rabbinic Autho Authority rity Orthodox : God gve Moe  Writte Lw d  Orl Lw, and this Oral Law has been passed on in a living way through

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each generation o rabbinic leaders, whose rulings and teachig re to e loely ollowed. Cotemporry ri ution as the ommunity leaders, giving appliation to the orh’ orh’ requirem re quiremet et or our dy dy.. Reform: Te rabbis o past generations should be respected and

honored, but their teachings teaching s should not be ollowed in a slavish way. way. oday’ oday’ss rabbis provide moral mora l and inspirational inspirational leaderleaderhip or their ogregtio ut do ot legilte ehvior.

Observance

aspec t o Jewish lie is mapped out, including Orthodox : Every aspect

whe to pry, wht pryer to y every dy d o every oio, wht text to tudy, how to oerve the Sth d holy dy, wht to et, mily reltio d lw o purity, et. Orthodox Jew re expeted to e ully oervt. Te more religious the ommunity, the more synagogue ttede i ott through the yer. Reform: Te ethil d morl ommd o the orh d Prophets should e ollowed, and a Jewish lie yle (ircumcision, bar mitzvah, worsh worship ip on the Sabba Sabbath, th, celebrating the holy dy) i eourged ut ot required. Dietry Dietr y lw and other nonmoral laws are a matter o personal choice. In  typil Reorm ogregtio, ttede well drmtilly durig the mjor holy dy  oppoed to other time o the th e yer.

God Orthodox :

Te Lord is the Creator o the universe and the King o the world, omnipotent, omnisient, omnipresent and ompletely nonorporeal. Asolute aith in Him is 19


oth required d umed. He rewrd d puihe d i tive i the world tody, repodig to the pryer d petitio o Hi people. Ofcially, God is viewed as the noncorporeal Creator o Reform: Ofcially, the world, but most Reorm rabbis are not at home with literal oept o the deity, d oe Reorm leder expli: Like Mimoide, we re ule to ept  God who i, esentially,, a bigger and better version o a human being—who sentially operte the omo the wy  odutor led  orhetr. As a whole, we embrace metaphor me taphor.. We We imagine imagi ne a God who is is reveled i the experiee o lovig reltiohip, o hope against despair, and o oligation to that whih is eyond ourelve. . . . We We re eliever, though, who tke the ide o elie quite eriouly. I ever hve met  Reorm ri who did ot eel tht omethig omilly importt w hppening in the moment that he or she led Jews in delaring themelve eore their God.13

Human Nature and Holiness Orthodox :

Te human rae is reated y God, and every hum eig ttle etwee the good ilitio d the evil ilitio. Every Jew, i prtiulr, h  divie prk within him that, when ignited, will bring him into i nto traditional Jewih oerve. oer ve. Tere i  tremedou emphi put put o keeping the ommandments and walking in purity, oth ritully d morlly.

Reform: Human beings are the product o evolution, with great

potential, even to usher in a Messianic era, and every ever y human eig h  divie prk. Si i viewed primrily i oil terms rather than measured against standards o holiness or,, eve more emphtilly, lw o ritul purity or purity..

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Messiah and the Messianic Age

See #10 or detil. Te diserning reader will reognize that, within the ramework o Judaism, and given the distintions etween Judaism d Chritiity (ee #8), the dieree etwee Orthodox d Reorm Jew would prllel the dieree etwee ommitted Chriti d omil Chriti. Te ormer tke the Bile  God’s inallile Word and seek to order their lives aordingly, taking the t he words o Jesus Jesus as binding, taking t aking personal sin si n seriously, seriously, ttedig hurh ervie erv ie d Bile tudie o  oitet, yerroud i d eekig to live i  God-oiou tte ll the time. Te ltter tted hurh pordilly, virtully ever red their Biles, tend to e seasonal Christians (aptism, Commuio, Eter, Chritm) d idetiy themelve  Chriti y religion ut not y having a quality, ongoing relationship with the Lord. Te ormer look t the ltter  ompromied d ot reeting the truth o the Gospel; the latter look at the ormer  til, loe-mided d eve dgerou. Te me  e said o Orthodox (espeially ultra-Orthodox) views o Reorm Judim, d vie ver! O  morl d ethil level, the ujet o the epte o homosexuality provides a ontemporary illustration o the dieree etwee Orthodox, Coervtive d Reorm Judim. For Orthodox Jew, the tetimoy o the orh d the rii tradition is clear, decisive and nal: Homosexual practice is sinul sinu l and unaeptale, and pratiing homosexuals an play no ocial religious religi ous role in the community community.. (Although Orthodox Or thodox rabbis would tte tht ompio hould e how towrd Orthodox Jews who struggle with same-sex desires, with rare exception, such Jews live very loseted lives in terms o their sexual struggles.) Reinorcing the prohibition o homosexual homosexual practice is the act ac t that trditiol Judim reogize the word “Be ruitul d multiply” (Geei 1:28, nasb)  the very rt ommdmet give 21


y God, hee the lrge Orthodox milie, the mot religio religiou u o whom do ot prtie irth otrol. For Conservative Jews, the matter o homosexuality is the ujet o eriou, ogoig dete, with the iet trditio needing to e reshly assessed and evaluated, although the primary Conservative view is shiing toward the aeptane o homoexul prtie (peilly, reogizig ivil uio and ordaining homosexual rais). Conservative rais also reognize that most o their ongregants do not pratie the undamentals o Judaism in their private lives. As noted y Ri Wei, We see se e it today throughout the Conservative Conser vative Movement. Movement. Jews who don’t oserve Kashrut [dietary laws] or Shabbat [oserving the Kashrut [dietary Shabbat [oserving Sabbath] or those who are intermarried are treated with the same hoor d repet  thoe who ollow thee orm. I too my Conservative ongregations, Shabbat Shabbat and and Kashrut Kashrut are are things to be observed in the public arena, in synagogue, but not necessarily y idividul Jew. I t, depite ll our edutiol ttempt, our memers ontinue to think that Jews who oserve Shabbat d Kashrut Kashrut re re “Orthodox.”14

Why then, should gay and lesbian Jews be treated tre ated any dierently i they deire memerhip i  Coervtive ygogue? Nott surprisingly, No surprisingly, the primary primar y school or the training o Conser vtive ri, ri, the Jewih Teologil Semiry i Mh Mhtt, tt, llowed one o its graduating speakers—a woman now serving as the associate asso ciate rabbi at the world’s world’s largest gay and lesbian synagogue— sy nagogue—to to give an impassioned plea or the aeptane o homosexuality. And what is the afliation o this gay and lesbian synagogue, called Beth Simchat Si mchat orah orah and boasting boast ing a membership member ship o 3,500? As you might have guessed, it is a Reorm Congregation, and Reorm Judim tully upport the oept o me-ex mrrige (or civil unions) and is willing willi ng to ordain gay and lesbian lesbian rabbis.15 Tis

22


quote rom  reorm ri, with reeree to hi gy rother, i illutrtivee o Reorm Jewih thikig: illutrtiv I kow wht the orh y out homoexulity i thi week’ [orah] portion; it’s alled “aomination punishale y death.” But I do’t do’t elieve  lovig God Go d ould hve writte uh  thig. t hig. It could only have come rom well-meaning but ignorant humans who ould ot ee tht homoexulity w prt o God’ God’ divere plan or humanity. humanity. It could only have come rom people who knew lmot othig o wht we kow tody. It ould oly hve ome rom people who did ot kow my rother Greg; your goode d your deep Jewih oul.16

In keeping with this, the t he current president o the Union or Reorm Judaism, Rabbi R abbi Eric Yofe, Yofe, has passionately denounced den ounced what he pereives to e antigay igotry, sounding a warning against Ameri’ “religiou right.”17 oday oday,, Reorm Judaism claims the t he largest number o adherents in the Uni United ted States (approximately (approximately 38 percent o American Amer ican Jews), closely ollowed ol lowed by Conservative Conser vative Judaism’ Judaism’s 35 percent. Ortho Orthodox dox Judaism represents about 6 percent o American Jews and over 15 peret o Jew i Irel, where it i eeig it mot rpid growth i term o peretge o the overll Jewih popultio, ie the ultr-Orthodox milie hve very lrge milie (eight to twelve children are common) common) while the t he secular Israeli amilies have small milie (ewer th two hildre per houehold). Beue o it moder, “elighteed” pproh to Jewih lie and law, law, Reorm Judaism claims that t hat it is the best antidote against ag ainst Jewih imiltio, helpig Jew who rejet the trditiol ith to maintain some semlane o Jewish identity. 18 In ontrast, Orthodox Judaism, espeially in its right-wing orms, sees Reorm Judaism as a major part o assimilation, also pointing to the moder Orthodox “revivl” i the lt ew dede,  my nonreligious Jews have eome traditional. (Suh a person is

23


alled a baal teshuvah, teshuvah, literally, “a master o repentane,” ut simply meaning someone who returns to traditional Judaism, the premise eing that this is the proper and original aith or all Jews, hene the onept o “return.”) Tis Orthodox revival has also een evidened y some major pulishing ventures in whih numerous lassi works o Judaism (see #7) have een translated into contemporary contemporary English Eng lish and beautiully produced in prllel, Herew-Eglih verio with exteive ommetrie. Most notable in this genre is the 72-volume Schotte Schottenstein nstein almud almud , pulihed y ArtSroll.19 As or the major institutions o the three main branches o Judaim, the ultr-Orthodox hve oe, tudyig ited i yehiv or my yer, idelly throughout through out their etire live,  work d amily schedules schedul es allow. allow. Teir learning lear ning is voluminous, but narrowly ocused. Te vast majority o Modern Orthodox O rthodox rabbis have been trained trai ned at Yeshiva Yeshiva University Univer sity in New York York City, although althoug h there are ome hool i Irel ow  well. Te vt mjority o Coer vtive ri hve ee tried t Jewih Teologil Semiry, lo i New York City, while the vt mjority o Reorm ri hve ee tried tri ed t Herew Uio Uio College d Jewih Jewi h Ititute o Religio, ed i Ciiti ut with rh hool i New York City, Lo Agele d Jerulem. O  light ote, there re  umer o Jewih joke tht highhigh light the dieree etwee Orthodox, Coervtive d Reorm, such as: Te Orthodox are crazy (being considered too strict stric t and undamentalist in their pratie and interpretation o the law), the Conservative are hazy (being considered unclear in their rel ovitio eue o their t heir middle-o-the-rod pproh) and the Reorm are lazy (reerring to their extreme laxness in term o Jewih oerve). Aother joke i tht the Orthodox say, adonoy (reerring to the Eastern European pronuniation o the word Lord ); ); the Conservative say, adonay (reerring to the Middle Eter E ter prouitio o Lord o Lord ); ); d the t he Reorm y  y,, 24


“I-don’-know” (reerring to their alleged ignorane o Herew d rel Judim).20

What is Hasidic Judaism?

2

“Hasidic Judaism developed during a period o intense misery “Hasidic or mot Jew i eter Europe. By the middle middl e o the eighteeth etury, the Jewih popultio o Pold d the Ukrie hd endured a entury o intermittent poverty, perseution, and pogrom.”21 It w git thi kdrop tht the Hidi movement egan, and its origins in the eighteenth entury an e tred diretly to  highly hrim hrimti, ti, Ukri-Jewih Ukri-Jewih myti, or  Irel e Eliezer, ut lter kow  the Baal Shem ov (meaning, “Master o the Good Name,” or, aording to some, “Good Master o the Name”). Born in 1698 and orphaned as a very poor, youg hild, hi lie i hrouded i leged. Aordig to trditio, eve   oy, he would go out y himel ito the eld d wood to get loe with God—thi Go d—thi w ot  ommo Jewish pratie—ut rom all reports, it seems that he was not reognized as a Jewish leader o note—in at, he seems not to hve impreed people t ll—util 1734 whe, ordig to hi ollower, he “reveled himel” y workig mirle d demonstrating his holiness. (Te title given to him, the Baal Shem ov—revited  the t he Besht —reerred —reerred to hi ue o the t he divie me to work mirle.) A hi me grew, he eg to ttrt  wide w ide rge o diiple, oth learned and unlearned, ut his reputation was primarily that o a mirale worker and mysti rather than a sholar, and his teachings emphasized joyul joyu l relationship with God more than eruditio. I thi, he mde  rek with muh o the trditiol Jewish ous in his day, whih plaed a disproportionate emphi o exellig i orh tudy. (By orh tudy, I reer here

25


primarily to the study o the oral traditions; see #3 and #7.) In otrt, the Bl Shem ov tught tht eve the mot igort Jewish peasant ould experiene divine intimay, even enourgig ome level o devitio rom the detiled, xed ytem o Jewih dily pryer. Aordig to Dr. Gerhrd Flk, Te Bl Shem ov ov tught tht G-d i everywhere, ever ywhere, ot oly i ygogues. He taught taug ht that G-d wants us to approach Him and His orah orah with joy d glde. . . . Te poor d igort Jew o Rui . . . were astonished to hear this message. Te Baal Shem ov was happy i hi poverty. He He rejeted the ormlitie orm litie o hi oppoet ([lled] Migdim) d emphized Jewih optimim d joy. . . . Believig tht the highet orm o pryer w  ttitude o joy and happiness, o singing and daning, he taught his ollowers tht  good deed w worth more th ll the dheree to the 613 Mitzvoth [ommdmet]. He lo tught tht the humle and the ignorant have a etter hane o enjoying the World to Come th the rrogt d the lered. Tee leture reted gret exitemet mog the mierle masses o Slavi Jews. reated worse than the laks in Mississippi eore the ivil rights movement, the Jews o Europe had o joy. Yet, the Beht tught them optimim d lughter midt pogroms [organized, violent attaks on the Jewish people] and hatred. He literally rose above the content c ontent o daily lie and became  eormou ipirtio to hi people. Hi movemet w lled Hidim or Piety. Nerly oe hl o ll Jew [meig, i tht prt o the world] uried urie d to hi mege depite the oppoitio o the ormlit i Lithui d elewhere.22

Tese ormalists, ormalists , however, however, still constituted the communal ma jority in most all o the major Jewish cities—in terms te rms o social status, inuence and recognized Jewish leadership—and the greatest scholar o the era, an extraordinary genius, Rabbi R abbi Elijah, the Vilna Gaon (that is, “the genius o Vilna”), Vilna”), pronounced a ban on Hasidic

26


Jew i the hrhet o term. Ti ued them muh uerig, d it i elieved tht upo the Vil Go’ deth—rememer that he was the greatest Jewish scholar o his day—many Hasidim ded o hi grve i juiltio. Ti uderore how itee the iitil ofit w! Te tehig o the Bl Shem ov were ped o through hi ledig diiple, d over time,  Hidi Jew ireigly ame in line with traditional Jewish praties, even eoming amous or their exceptional devotion, the animosity between betwe en the oppoet (lled Misnagdim (lled Misnagdim or or Mitnagdim Mitnagdim i Herew) d the Hidi Jew leeed drmtilly, lthough it till exit tody. Teir emphi o mytiim td out mog other Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews, ut it is not entirely unique, in that study o the Zohar and other mystial texts is onsidered to e prt o mitrem, trditiol Judim. Oe o the mot uique pet o Hidi Judim—ideed, it i oud oly mog Hidi Hidi Jew—i the mytil myti l importe pled o the pero per o o the ree, the grd ri o the Hidi ommuity, d with tht, the importe o hvig  piritul connection with the rebbe. Te rebbe, whose position is generally passed on in direct descent to the eldest son—hence, the reerence to “Hidi dytie”—i elieved to hve  peil d uique reltiohip with God d to e  mirle worker,  m whoe leig re to e oveted d whoe guide i ought y the members o his community, some o whom revere their rebbe out o ll hum proportio. I t, i ome Hidi irle, tellig torie out oe’ ree i oidered  orm o worhip. I can remember meeting some s ome Hasidic Jews in New York York in the 1970 who iormed me tht the oly i their ree ever ommitted w uig hi mother pi i hildirth, lthough they assured me that he had since taken care o that issue. I kid you not!23 Other Hidim I hve met emphized the gret lerig o their ree, while other poited to their ree’ lleged uperturl 27


knowledge o people, places and events (received, it is believed, by divie reveltio). Not urpriigly, urpriigly, it i ommo to ee piture o  ommuity’ ommuity’ ree (oth pt p t d preet) promietly diplyed i the home o the Hidim. Ti emphi o the ree ontinues to draw ritiism rom other orms o Judaism, some o whih ee thi  ultlike d, otrry to mitrem Jewih trditio, puttig  overemphi overemphi o m rther th God. Go d. Although  lrge peretge o Hidi Jew w lughtered by the Nazis, a number o their leaders survived and reconstituted their movements in America, which whi ch remains the home o as many as several hundred thousand adherents. Hasidic Hasidi c groups are known known y the ple o their origi, the mot promiet tody eig: Lubavitch,, rom Lyuvihi Lubavitch Lyuvihi i Belrui. Ti movemet, lo known as Chabad, an acronym ac ronym or chokmah, wisdom, binah, undertdig d da‘at , kowledge, ejoyed exeptiol growth uder the lederhip o Ri Mehem Medel Sheer Sheero o (1902–94), the seventh and last in his dynastic succession (he had no children), and hailed y many o his ollowers as the Messiah. Shneerson, who led thi movemet rom Brookly d ever et oot i Irel, developed a worldwide Jewish outreach program devoted to calling ooervt Jew k to trditiol Judim, Judim, etlihig  mive etwork o hildre’ hool d dult outreh eter. Hi success and his teachings about the nearing o the age o redemption, bolstered by some o the mystical belies o the Lubavitcher Hasidim, Hasidim, helped create create the “Rebbe is the t he Messiah” Messiah” movement, and to this t his day, day, illord prolimig him  Kig Meih  e ee i my parts o Israel. Tose diretly or loosely afliated with Luavith umer  my  200,000 d, otrry to populr expettio, expet tio, Luavith has enjoyed signiant growth sine the death o their rebbe, who has not been succeeded. 24 Note, however, however, that the actual actu al umer o ommitted Luvith Hidim i r elow 200,000. Satmar , rom Stu Mre (meig “Sit Mry”!) i Romi (origilly, Sztmremeti, Hugry). Hugry). Te Stmr re more trit tri t

28


i their oerve th the Luvither—i t, they hve hd numerous numero us interamily clashes over the years—and, in distinct contrt with Luvither, they re ompletely igrow, ommoly speaking Yiddish and Hungarian eore English, despite eing ased primarily in Brooklyn and upstate New York. A “model” Stmr ommuity, lled Kiry Joel d loted i the tow o Monroe, “is a community community where traditional values and the centrality centralit y o mily re till the guidig priiple o ommuity lie. It i  place where parents and children participate jointly in the beautiul b eautiul ritual and customs o Hasidic and Orthodox Ortho dox Jewish lie. o o preserve these unadulterated values, Kiryas Joel is a ommunity without television or radio. A ew weeklies weeklies and other periodicals, period icals, published in Yiddish, are sold in i n the Village.”25 Satmar’ Satmar’ss most prominent rebbe was Yoel Yoel eitelbaum eitelbaum (1887–1979), (1887–1 979), aer whom w hom Kiryas Kiryas Joel is named. name d. A heroi urvivor o Auhwitz, where he lot mot o hi mily, he w  rdet oppoet o the moder tte o Irel, elievig tht it w  tio ouded y irreligiou d theiti Jew d tht it preee tood i the wy o the Meii ge, ie it w the Meih loe who w to regther the exile d reetlih the nation o Israel. Te Satmar numer approximately 120,000, mkig them the t he lrget Hidi movemet movemet i term o dheret rom birth (whereas many Lubavitchers are either loosely afliated or reet overt to Hidi Judim). Breslov, rom Bratslav, in the Ukraine. Tis was ounded y Rebbe Nachman o Breslov (1772–1810), who was a great-grandson o the Baal Baa l Shem ov ov.. What makes this t his Hasidic movement m ovement unique uni que is that they have een a ommunity without a ree or almost two hudred yer, ig themelve o their ree’ tehig (inluding many parales and stories) and legendary aounts, log with the tehig o hi diiple di iple d their diiple. Tey are known or their outwardly joyous worship (ommon to all Hasidi worship is an intense expression o joy and ervor) and  e ee i Irel pulily dig i the treet, prt o their 29


“outreh” to the eulr ommuity.26 Teir ifuee i diproportiote to their mll umer. Other signiant groups inlude Boov, now headquartered i Borough Prk, Brookly. It i perhp the eod-lrget Hsidic group in America, Ameri ca, aer Satmar. In In Israel, signicant signic ant Hasidic group ilude Ger, Vihitz d Beltz. A ote out the term Hasidic Hasidic:: Te Herew word hasid hasid me me “pious one, godly one,” and it ours 34 times in the Herew Bile, ometime with reeree to the Lord (ee Plm 145:17; Jeremih 3:12) ut ormlly with reeree to godly people (ee 1 Smuel 2:9; 2 Smuel 22:26; Mih 7:2; the word our mot requetly i the Plm; ee Plm 4:4; 12:2; 16:10; 37:28; 85:9; 116:15; 145:1, 5, 9). In the seond entury b.c., the godly Jews who oppoed the olught o Helleim were lled Hasideans Hasideans,, or “godly ones.” Until the 1700s, however, the term Hasid Hasid was, was, or the mot prt, ued to derie godly idividul idividul rther th pei Jewih group, d there w o uh thig  “Hidi Judaism.” Note also that an alternative spelling is Chasidic, reectig the prouitio o the opeig opei g Herew letter, letter, heth heth,, whih is guttural, similar to the Sottish ch in Loch Ness. Ness. Also ound are the spellings Hassidic (or Chassidic ). Te noun Hasidut (or Chassidic). Hasidut (or Chasidut ) reer to the prtie o Hidi Judim.

3

What is the Oral Law?

According to traditional According traditional Judaism, when God gave Moses the writte orh o Mout Sii, He lo gve him  orl orh, whih ontains explanations o the written orah, along with priniples o interpretation through whih the Written Law an e understood. Moses then allegedly passed this Oral Law on to Joshua, who then passed it on to the elders o the next generation, then to the prophet, the to the leder o wht i lled the Gret Aemly

30


(eginning in Ezra’s day), then to spei pairs o leaders in the eturie eore Jeu d the to whole geertio o leder i the uequet eturie. (For the li rii ormultio, ee m. Avot hp. 1.) Why w there  eed or  Orl Lw? L w? Te ri would y that without urther oral explanation, many, i not all, o the ilial ommandments are unintelligile. For example, God ommanded the Israelites not to work on the Saath, with a deth pelty legilted git thoe t hoe who roke the ommdment. But nowhere does the t he orah orah dene exactly exac tly what constitutes work. How the ould there e  deth pelty or violtio o an unlear ommandment? Aording to traditional Judaism, God gve urther expltio to Moe i the Orl Lw, detilig the o-lled 39 udiviio o lor tht were prohiited o the Sth.27 Another example o an allegedly unlear ommandment is oud i Deuteroomy 6:6–9, where Moe id to Irel: Tee ommdmet tht I give you tody re to e upo your hearts. Impress them on your hildren. alk aout them when you it t home d whe you wlk log the rod, whe you lie dow d whe you get up. ie them  ymol o your hd d id them o your orehed. Write Write them o the doorrme o your houe d o your gte.

What, exatly, does it mean to “tie [the ommandments] as symbols on your hands and bind them t hem on your oreheads”? What does it mean to “write them on the doorrames o your houses d o your gte”? Te ri lim to hve the expltio ex pltio or this as well, interpreting these verses literally with reerene to phylterie d the mezuzh (ee #20 d #21). Dozens o other examples could be given, but the pattern is the same: raditional raditional Judaism claims that the Written Law cannot be udertood without the Orl Lw.

31


Why the i there little or o diret evidee i the t he Sripture or this Oral Law? Te rais would say that diret evidene is unnecessaryy, since there has been unnecessar b een an unbroken chain o transmission through the generations—rom Sinai until this day—and o there i o dout out the reliility o the trditio. Ad, they would argue, an oral tradition is presupposed throughout the Herew Sripture. “But,” you might protest, “is it not true that God ased His ovet with Irel o the writte Word?” (ee Exodu 24:3–8; 34:27, among many other verses). Te rais would agree with this statement to an extent, but they the y would emphasize that without the orl trditio, the writte ovet ot e udertood. Tey would thereore tte emphtilly tht there hd to e  Orl Lw i order or the writte wr itte ovet to hve ee idig d pplile, oth i iet Irel d to thi t hi dy. dy. Tey would lo rgue tht ie the t he Orl Lw w uwritte, oe hould ot expect to nd direct evidence e vidence o an unwritten law in written texts! (Doe thi oud lightly irulr?)28 Aordig to trditiol Jew, it i the Orl Lw tht eprte them rom other religious aiths that also als o claim the Hebrew Bible as sared Sripture—speially, Christians—and it is the Oral Law that is espeially eloved. As explained y Dr. Immanuel Jkoovitz, ormer Chie Ri o the Uited Kigdom: Whe our Sge erted tht “the Holy Oe, Bleed e He, did not make His covenant covenant with Israel except by virtue o the Oral Law” L aw” (Gitti 60B), they ot oly propouded  rdil Jewih elie, they lo expreed  truth  evidet evi det tody  it w i lmudi times. Te true character charac ter o Judaism cannot be appreciated appreciated except y  itimte quite qu ite with wit h the Orl Lw L w.. Te Writte Writte Lw L w,, tht i the Five Book B ook o Moe, d eve the t he ret o the Herew Bile, we share with other aiths. What makes us and our aith ditit d uique i the t he orl trditio  the utheti key to  udertdig o the writte text we ll  ll the orh.29

32


Simply stated, there is no traditional Judaism without the traditio d o rii Judim without the ri. Now,, there is Now i s no reason to deny that traditions existed ex isted and developed i the lie o iet Irel—i t, tht i tke or grted d there i mple evidee to upport thi—ut it i other thig entirely to argue that these traditions were divinely inspired, that they were give y God o Mout Sii d tht they were hded down in unbroken, authoritative orm through the generations. Tat i  theory epted oly y Orthodox Jew. Jew. I t, it i oly ultrOrthodox Jew who ept thi oept  oept i it literl totlity. totlity. Wht i iroi i tht, evetully, the oral oral trditio trditio were put in writing , and it is in their written orm that they have een preserved. preser ved. What makes this all a ll the more ironic is that the almud stated that the written w ritten orah orah was not to be transmitted t ransmitted orally and the oral orah orah was not to be transmitted in writing (b. Gittin 60b). Noethele,  the orl trditio grew d  the livig oditions o the Jewish people became bec ame more difcult—including difcult—including persecution and dispersion—it was inevitable that these oral traditions tradit ions were put ito writig, d thu the Orl Lw h ee preerved through ook. Orthodox Jew, however, would emphize tht eve though the orl trditio hve ee put i writig or the last 1,800 years—and they continue to be put in writing—it is i s only i the otext o  livig ommuity tht thee trditio  e ully experiened and understood, hene the need or ongoing orl itrutio, expltio d exmple. Te my ook o the Orl Lw (ee #7) oti diuio and amplication o the orah orah laws; legal deliberations; new ne w laws, utom d etmet; ommetrie o the orh d other portio o Sripture; olklore, prle, torie; d everythig else that relates to virtually all aspects o Jewish lie—all grounded i  rii rii perpetive. Aordig Aor dig to trditiol Jew, durig the lt two t wo to three eturie b.c., the primry trmitter o the Orl Lw were lled

33


the zugot , or “pairs,” reerring to two prominent leaders in eah geertio. Tey were ollowed y the im, who lived i the rst two centuries o this era (the singular anna means “repeater” or “teacher”; “teacher”; these teachers transmitted tr ansmitted the primary traditions tr aditions that were eig ped dow d developed). Tee were ollowed y the Amoraim, who lived in the third to h enturies ( Amora me “yer”; “yer”; thee teher otiued to develop the trditio d ought to itegrte them urther with the ilil text). Next were the Saboraim in the sixth century (Sabora means “reasoner”; these men were the nal editors o the Babylonian almud). almud). From the eveth to the teth eturie were the Goim (reerrig to the leaders o the Babylonian academies); next were the Rishonim, i the eleveth to eeth eturie. (Te term Rishonim literlly means “earlier ones,” who were responsile or the major ilil d lmudi ommetrie, log with the developmet o the law odes.) From the sixteenth entury until today are the Ahroim (literlly, “lter oe,” i otrt with the Rihoim). raditional Jews elieve that, generally speaking, there is a spiritual deline in every entury, sine eah new generation td t  urther dite dit e rom the reveltio t Sii,  tted i the lmud, “I the ormer geertio w like gel, we re like men; i they were like men, we are like donkeys” (. Shaat 112). Tis means that an interpretation, ruling or ustom that was estalished y a previous generation—espeially rom the geertio o the im or Amorim—eome virtully rot i the ollowig geertio.

4

What is the anakh?

Tanakh is the Jewish name or the Herew Sriptures, what Christians all the Old estament. Te word itsel is an aronym standing or three words: Torah (the Pentateuh), Nevi’im

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60 Questions Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs and Practices

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