Rose Is A Rose

[In a little less haste I rewrote an essay I had assembled already – The Changing Jewish Heritage http://theimperiousloudmouth.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-changing-jewish-heritage.html– because I was looking for words that better reflected my point of view. I ask your indulgence.]

Ironic, isn't it. On Halloween, just over five centuries ago, Martin Luther doffed the garments of a position in the Pope's church and donned those of his new calling. With his 95 Theses he split with Rome and opened a wound that had existed in the church for hundreds of years. Wycliffe and Hus had expressed their dissatisfaction much earlier, but no significant movement followed.

Knox, Zwingli, Calvin, and others (even Henry VIII, though he was not noted as a theologian), however, soon followed Luther's lead and the Protestant Reformation was born. And there were new religions. Each had its own churches, rituals and beliefs – its own costume. From one, many. That's not to suggest there weren't commonalities. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, Christian is a Christian is a Christian. At least in one respect. An Episcopalian is an Anglican is a Presbyterian – or, for that matter, a “Moonie” or a Mormon. They're all Christians, accepting the divinity of Jesus. They subscribe to the idea of a common heritage from which had arisen many different, but linked, religions – a common origin with a variety of different coverings. Humans wearing different costumes. Halloween. A day of sanctification.

The Jewish Reformation began toward the end of the eighteenth century and the start of the nineteenth. That was the start of Jewish protestantism. There had been “heretics” before, but no unified trend. The establishment of Reform Judaism marked the beginning of a movement to group Jews according to beliefs and rituals. It makes sense: a havura member is certain not to follow the practices Haredi Jews. But both, having Jewish mothers, are Jews.

Another irony. Neither sees the validity of the other's beliefs and (if any) rituals, but both pass the religious test. We are obsessed with the question “Who is a Jew?'” while ignoring the fact that it is not a relevant question. It was settled long ago. A Jew is the child of a Jewish mother (that excludes “patrilineal Jews) or someone who has undergone a valid conversion – whatever that means. Anyone fitting that definition is a Jew. But there are differences between a “social” Jew and one who practices “modern orthodoxy,” and it is self-deception not to recognize that they are different religions: they believe different things and their practices are different. As are their houses of worship.

It is not necessary to decide who is right – only to admit that we have different views and we worship in different ways. Jews have a common heritage. We are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But while we all believe that ours is the only “true” Judaism rather than the perspective of one of many “protestant” Jewish religions, the infighting is inevitable. We're all Jews, but we practice different religions. Ideally we'll take “Jew”out of the title of our religion and identify ourselves as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or whatever. Better still, a “Minyanarian,” “Schechterite,” and “Egalitarian.” Costumes reflective of their beliefs.

But the Messiah will come first.

January 21, 2018

Who is a Jew?

Who is a Jew?

It's an old question. But it's a silly and meaningless one. And the Rabbis answered it long ago: it is the child of a Jewish mother, or an individual who has undergone a valid conversion. We may disagree on what constitutes a “valid” conversion, but that's the definition.

Still, it's the wrong question. Far more significant is the uncertainty about “What is a Jew?”

In 1517 Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to his church door. He protested various dogmas and practices of Christianity, triggering the Protestant Reformation. He remained a Christian but his “spin,” and that of others, resulted in the establishment of the many denominations of Christianity. We would not debate whether a Mormon was Christian, but neither he nor a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America would have the chutzpah to demand the use of the Sistine Chapel for a service of their own, or to question the Pope's standing. Even within the Roman Catholic Church there are many who are more liberal or more conservative than the Pope, but his authority is recognized. Other views are not accepted as representing “authentic” Roman Catholicism. They are teachings that differ from those of Jesus. Whether they are right or wrong is beyond the scope of this discussion. It is enough to concede that they are different.

Yet both Anglicans and Christian Scientists have equal claim on the designation of “Christian,” even though they reject the teachings of the “mother” church and practice different religions. (Similarly Sunnis, Sufis, Shias, Alawites, and Druze – among other groups – consider themselves Muslims, though they may reject the religion as practiced by the others.)

There are a host of parallels in Jewish history. The protests of many Jews about the practices of their religion, and the establishment of “Reform Judaism,” marked the onset of the Jewish Reformation, resulting in the establishment of numerous denominations, sects, “chevrahs,” and other variations – Jewish protestants. Unlike Christianity, however, each considers its variation as the center, while other perspectives are, necessarily, the outliers. Although Christianity may, almost uniformly, recognize the authority of the Pope in many areas, and the sanctity of the Vatican which Roman Catholicism administers, as outside their realm, dissident Jewish groups, Jews who do not practice “normative Judaism,” whose practices vary from those of the “mother church,” demand a voice in the direction of the religion. And they demand equality in decisions about the use of Jewish holy places.

What is “normative Judaism?” Using Catholicism as a model (and many will object to this) it is the religion accepted as tradition now and through the millennia; it is the Judaism administered by the Chief Rabbinate in Israel – the Jews sacred land. That is Judaism, and the other denominations of Jews practice different religions. (I personally have some disagreements with the way normative Judaism is observed but, as the saying goes, if I deviate I know from what I am deviating.) Perhaps those other Jews should be given territory to practice their faiths, though I know of no precedent for this in Christianity.

The question then revolves around the practices of the Jews in question: what do they believe, to whom do they look for direction, and what is their religion? If they fulfill the criteria set by the Rabbis, they are Jews. But that, alone, does not entitle them to speak on behalf of Jews who practice another faith. They find nothing regarding Judaism outside their domain. But it's their heritage, not their religion. We also need to consider their spin and their choice of authorities. If they don't observe “normative Judaism,” they're Jewish protestants – even if they're holier than we and refuse to recognize a Jewish State until the time of the Messiah.

If they reject the multi-millennial traditions of their people they are protestants.

That's how the Christians started out.

The Changing Jewish Heritage

In recent weeks and months there has been a lot of dispute about the control of religion in Israel by the Chief Rabbinate. There are some disagreements among the Orthodox, but most of the complaints come from the Reform and Conservative movements. Maintaining that they are as much Jews as the Orthodox since Jewishness is dependent on heredity rather than practice (a strange claim at a time of increasing acceptance of patrilineal descent, acceptable intermarriage, and the “welcoming” of non-Jews) they demand equal acceptance of their rulings and practices, and equal access to all Jewish sites on their terms. This doesn't seem to be in accord with the “status quo” agreement that went into effect when the State of Israel was founded, but that was then and this is now. The world has changed and there are many, especially Americans, who believe that Israel and Judaism should change as well.

The focus of the argument at this time is the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Wall is under control of the Rabbinate, which requires observances at that site to be according to (Orthodox) Jewish tradition. All services held there must observe its practices – separation of the sexes, traditional services, and others – rather than be change to accommodate those who want something else.

But it's not so simple.

When Martin Luther was born, “Christianity” meant what we now call Catholicism. But his demands, and those who followed him, didn't achieve what he sought in Rome, and the Protestant movement, with a variety of practices among its many adherents, was born. All those who joined the new churches were Christians. They all accepted a heritage which views Jesus as the savior. Many of those in the early church were Jews, but they disagreed with the traditions under which they had been raised. Indeed, those with an uninterrupted matrilineal line from those early Christians are, according to Jewish law, Jewish, though they are, for the most part, unidentifiable and would probably reject the designation. Some, however, would welcome it. There are many who view “converts” as hereditary Jews who are unaware of their family's history and there have been many actions against Jews in the past that forced them to accept other faiths.

In any event, you can be Christian and of another faith than Catholicism. Another faith. A Seventh Day Adventist or a Mormon wouldn't expect the Pope to change the Church's practices because he disagreed with them. Neither would a Pentecostalist demand the “right” to hold services in the Sistine Chapel because he is a Christian. That may be the case – indeed it is the case – but they're of different religions from the “mother” church. The Catholics know it and the Protestants agree.

Similarly it can't be argued that the Reform and the Conservative movements derive from the same source as Orthodox Judaism. But they're very different in many ways. The essay on Reform Judaism in The Jewish Virtual Library reads, in part,

Between 1810 and 1820, congregations in Seesen, Hamburg and Berlin instituted fundamental changes in traditional Jewish practices and beliefs, such as mixed seating, single day observance of festivals and the use of a cantor/choir. Many leaders of the Reform movement took a very "rejectionist" view of Jewish practice and discarded traditions and rituals. For example:

• Circumcision was not practiced, and was decried as barbaric.
• The Hebrew language was removed from the liturgy and replaced with German.
• The hope for a restoration of the Jews in Israel was officially renounced, and it was officially stated that Germany was to be the new Zion.
• The ceremony in which a child celebrated becoming Bar Mitzvah was replaced with a "confirmation" ceremony.
• The laws of Kashrut and family purity were officially declared "repugnant" to modern thinking people, and were not observed.
• Shabbat [the Jewish Sabbath which occurs on Saturday] was observed on Sunday.
• Traditional restrictions on Shabbat behavior were not followed.

Many of the new practices were subsequently abandoned, but the new movement had published its 95 Theses as much as Luther did four centuries earlier, and “Jewish Protestantism” was born. Jews were practicing a new religion that was significantly different from the one that had been observed by their ancestors.

“Conservative Judaism” began as a compromise position between Orthodox Judaism and the new movement but it has since moved to the left and also represents a separate religion. Those who follow it may be “Jews,” but their religion is not Judaism. It may be appropriate to work with them when our needs coincide, but to suggest that we observe the same religion and tradition – that we accept the same heritage as those who follow Conservative and Reform practices – makes no sense whatever.

It's time we recognized that all who label themselves as “Jews” – and there are many who reject the designation entirely – are not of the same religion.

And Israel follows the Jewish heritage even if others don't.