WEEKLY TORAH READING Vayigash Genesis 44:18-47:27 The Pew Survey of the American Jewish Community! Perhaps youve heard of it. The Jewish press/blogosphere/websites/conferences/conversations have covered it more than Iran, certainly more than the Israeli/Palestinian peace talks. So I suppose Ill have to say something about it at some point (I will). But for now, Im focused on two pieces of data: one, that Jews identify as atheists in far greater percentages than any other ethnic population in the United States. And, two, 28% of American Jews dont identify with the Jewish religion at all; for them its an ethnic identity, not a faith or a spiritual system. Apparently this number is growing. So what do I -a religious Jew, leading a religious Jewish institution - do with these numbers, apart from working on my resume, or attending vocational workshops? The question came up in a conversation with a group of teenagers and one of them suggested to me maybe youd better go a little easy on the God stuff. Stick to Superbowl parties, or kosher wine tastings (with kosher as a style, not a set of religious rules). But the problem with going easy on the God stuff is that human beings, Jews included, seem to have innate spiritual cravings. Even the famous atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins admitted recently that theres a genetic basis to faith, which means that were hard wired for spirituality. Nowadays most American Jews dont express these spiritual urgings through traditional methods: tallis and tefilin, statuatory prayer, keeping kosher (by the way, I didnt need the Pew Survey to tell me that). But our hearts still yearn for spiritual expression. For example, we crave human connections: love, friendship, community. We experience spiritual emotions: awe, amazement, wonder, deep joy. We attach ourselves to great and noble causes. We celebrate peak moments in our lives, through rituals and community, and we similarly mourn our losses. Many years ago a family approached me whod just lost their son in an airplane crash. They had decided to cremate his remains, because thats what he requested. But they asked me to put together a Jewish ceremony. According to the Conservative rules of the time, I was required to say no; cremation is against Jewish law. But I said yes (dont tell anyone). I led a Jewish service of sorts. When I came to keriah - the ritual tearing of a garment, often a black ribbon - everyone at the funeral came to life. They all wanted a ribbon to tear, even the non-Jews. They needed a Jewish way to express a spiritual emotion: loss, feeling torn and wounded. Today, this family would be a typical Jewish Pew household. They were unaffiliated, intermarried. They probably considered themselves atheists, or, Jewish by ethnicity, not by religion. But they needed Jewish spiritual techniques to mark their deep pain, and to acknowledge their amazement over the mysteries of life and death. Assimilation doesnt erase those needs, it just changes their form. Our reading contains a fascinating theology - a way of thinking about God, and Gods role in our lives. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers he says, You intended it [selling him into slavery] for evil but God intended it for good. . . to save lives. Joseph here is expressing an emotion familiar to many moderns. We might say something like, I dont fully understand the traumas in my life, the ups and downs, the losses, the great joy, the strokes of luck, the terrible mistakes. But I feel, vaguely, that Im part of a plan, that Gods been guiding me, leading me somewhere - that my life has meaning. This is a purely subjective, personal feeling. It doesnt generate any rituals or commandments. But its real, and powerful, and alive today in many hearts. The Torah actually contains two distinct theologies, one in Exodus and one in Genesis. The God of Exodus is a God who liberates us from Egypt in order to bring us to a mountain, and there give us 613 commandments. This is a God as lawgiver, the One who commands our mitzvot. Im unapologetic in embracing this theology as my own; its the organizing principle of my life. But Id be foolish if I didnt recognize that most Jews today dont resonate to this theology. Genesis describes a different God, one who appears episodically at key moments in characters lives, and offers guidance, or comfort, or a timely rebuke. This is the God who appears to Jacob at Beth El, as hes running away from home, filled with guilt over swindling his brother. God assures him in that dream that Jacob will ultimately find greatness. Its the God who appears without warning to the old and childless Abraham and tells him that hes too young to retire. Its the God who materializes to the sinning Adam and Eve and asks Where are you? The Genesis God disappears as often as He appears. Hes a mysterious presence, popping up in dreams or visions, but always offering something, even if its hard to remember in the morning. This God still lives in the hearts of most Jews, of most human beings. Its this God who will help us rebuild Judaism in America. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Philip Graubart
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:35:17 +0000
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