A man stumbles/lurches across a desert wilderness. The sun beats down upon his tired body, and he feels as dry/arid and hot as the sand upon which he walks. In the distance…..a shimmer, an oasis perhaps….a glimmer of hope….sustenance to water his bedraggled parched body. But alas, his hope is a mirage and his journey again becomes a helpless, hopeless wander. We are Jews, wandering the wilderness that is our lives. Time and time again, we are on the brink of succumbing to the thirst, abandoning our faith, yet somehow we are refreshed, and our faith is restored.
At this time of year we read the Book of Genesis. The story found in the portion, Toldot, can teach us a lesson about the place of tradition and history vis-à-vis innovation and evolution. In the portion, “Isaac dug the wells again that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them.” (Gen. 26:18)
Isaac repeats the actions of his father, and in doing so affirms the value of the past….of tradition. He restores the flow of water, and also symbolically, the flow of tradition. We can see Isaac’s actions as a metaphor for the Shalshelet HaKabalah, the chain of tradition. Isaac sees the utmost importance of the past, and so should we.
Some would argue that it is Progressive Judaism that has most abandoned our history and tradition. Even with our increased attention to ritual, in many synagogues, kippot and tallitot are still relegated to the rickety shelf in the furthest corner, or lay limply in a wicker basket, untouched. How can we possibly call ourselves Jews if we do not wear any of the vestments of our religion? Are these truly the things that maintain our chain of tradition? Have we really lost our way?
I remember my first days of classes at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. In just one week I realized that a 13 year old student in Israel knew more about Torah and if they were Orthodox, volumes more that I did. How can I be considered authentic in light of this? It could seem that Orthodoxy is the best way to dedicate oneself to tradition and to practice “authentic” Judaism. But this is not the case.
It could be argued that Reform Judaism is the only movement which truly maintains the dynamism of the Jewish faith. All must recognize a number of realities. First, Progressive Jews and their rabbis have the right to study and interpret the texts of our Tradition. Second, Progressive Judaism is the most effectual branch of Judaism in the United States, and third, Liberal Judaism is firmly entrenched in American life. When we accept these as true, we can move on to the larger and more profound question of what role Liberal Judaism can and should play in the Jewish world.
Progressive Judaism is a dynamic and useful approach to Judaism. For example it takes basic and ancient tenets of our faith such as “Keep and remember the Sabbath,” and set those pillars in a new mold that meets community members where they are. Reform and Conservative brothers and sisters of the Jewish fiath include more voices than our Orthodox brothers of faith. It is this diversity that is progressive Judaism’s greatest strength.
Progressive Judaism has reinterpreted the texts to be accepting of the “other” in our midst. In fact, it has argued that the “other” is simply, “one of us”. Women now have rightfully assumed their place as leaders in all facets of Jewish life. If we had remained “loyal” to the Tradition as Orthodoxy might define it, one-half of our people would not be able to contribute as they have over the past fifty or so years. The question we ask as liberal Jews is, how can a chain, based on Torah, on study, become weaker when it includes more thinkers and more teachers?
The Progressive approach also seeks to isolate the core values of Jewish faith. The greatest gift of progressive Judaism is as Rabbi Niles Goldstein shared in his recent visit, “the ritualizing of ethics and the ethicizing of ritual.” We have edited the writings of our past rabbis and molded an authentic and potent Judaism that cuts to the essence of the issues facing the Jews of America today. We have also taken on new issues such dietary laws that include the ethical treatment of animals. The Eco-kosher movement in the United States, driven by liberal Jews, seeks to classify as ‘unclean’ animals that treated unethically and without dignity.
We maintain the chain of tradition by remolding or even replacing the links that have rusted and become rigid. A chain is meant to bend and sway and damaged links create a defective chain. In the Mishnah and Talmud, questions and problems with the text are continually raised. Reasoning would suggest that if they could question and debate the meaning of the text, so can we. Indeed, we too must respectfully question and responsibly reconsider the thinking of our earlier scholars.
Progressive Judaism is a uniquely dynamic approach to Judaism. However, we must be careful not to flippantly cast away tradition as outdated and useless. Progressive Judaism, rather than weakening our chain of tradition, strengthens it. It retrofits the chain with a “new metal alloy” of sorts that makes it stronger more flexible. Our Judaism is no less berthed by the Rabbinic period, than by earlier links in our chain than Orthodox Judaism. However we recognize that sometimes the dirt through which we dig our well has changed, and sometimes we cannot re-dig the well in the same place or in the same way. Just as there have been advances in well technology, there have been advances and new ways of thinking in Judaism. Progressive Judaism and Tradition are not at odds. They are perfect complements and serve to strengthen each other.
True Judaism is the dynamic infusion that we as individuals and as communities give to Tradition. May we sweeten and increase the sustenance that we pass on to the generation that follows after, keeping our religion forever evolving and forever dynamic. This is our challenge and our obligation.
Perseverance