This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

JUDAISM IN THREE WORDS

If you are like many Jews, you grapple within a certain tension which defines your identify.

Chances are, you are not a frequent Synagogue/Temple goer. On the other hand, you feel a deep connection with Jewish culture and tradition.
 
Increasingly, polls which measure Jewish attitudes and practices reflect that many Jews are looking less for "religion" and more for "spirituality."
 
Indeed, attending religious services can provide an invaluable grounding in ritual, tradition and spirituality. Personal and communal prayer, along with study, form the pillars of the Jewish religion.
 
However, experts who examine trends within Judaism, note a growing divide between those who pursue a singular Jewish path, and others who incorporate teaching and practices from other religions and cultures.
 
So where does that place the future of the Jewish people? In fact, some ask in the face of increasing rates of intermarriage, "Do we have a future."
 
This week, I attended a conference in Manhattan which discussed the issue of intermarriage within American Jewry.
 
Although, for both religious and sociological reasons, we as a Jewish people strenuously encourage what is now called "in marriage," the reality within the New York area is that about half of couples are "intermarrying."
 
It's a difficult statistic to absorb punctuated by the fact that in many other communities across the United States that figure is significantly higher.
 
So what do we do? The answer according to the experts is, "we reach out."
 
We tend to declare within many Jewish communities that we are "tolerant" of everyone. But perhaps that is not enough. Perhaps we need to consider using the word "cherish."
 
It's a difficult step for many.
 
Yet at this conference, which featured a steady wave of statistics and trend analysis, one fact resonated deeply for me.
 
When rabbis, cantors and the Jewish community reach out to intermarried couples, ninety percent of those families will initiate some sort of Jewish supplementary education for their children.
 
So the question remains, if half of our new marriages involve those of multi-faiths, and we continue, as we have in the past, to punish rather than welcome, where will the ext generation come from?
 
And what we will teach them?
 
There is a fascinating quote from the Book of Hosea (6:6) which is reiterated in scripture by many of our prophets which teaches that, "God requires mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings."
 
In other words, it is not the rituals of Judaism which are paramount, as much as its values and degree of action. It is not how many times we occupy a pew, or recite fixed prayers that counts, but rather how many people and how many lives we touch with kindness.
 
When the Shema instructs us to "teach these words to your children," how many of us are sure what those words are?
 
Judaism is evolving faster than any of us can keep track of. There are trends to monitor, synagogue policies to update, customs to evaluate, but in the end, the future of Judaism comes down to what we teach.
 
In this week's Haftorah, the prophetic text which follows the reading of the Torah portion, the prophet Micah delivers what may be the most important instruction within all of Judaism.
 
In fact, the Talmud tells us (Maccot 24b) that if we can't remember anything about Judaism, and if we are not sure what direction we are headed, one profound sentence put to parchment by Micah 2,700 years can guide us -- regardless of our background or family composition.
 
Said Micah, "God has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Only do to justice, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God."
 
With the High Holidays just over two months away, let us begin to filter ourselves through "justice, goodness and humility" as we assess our own spiritual paths.
 
And let our leaders and institutions begin to perform their own Cheshbon Nefesh an accounting of the soul, as we prepare for another year of life. Perhaps tolerance isn't enough.
 
This week's reading from Micah begs the question, "are we focusing on the right values," as we adapt to a new and complex generation.
 
This new generation is asking for spirituality and meaning. Who and how they love is a personal matter.
 
Knowing this, how do we as parents, grandparents, and leaders build a path to the future without breaking the thread of who we are as a people?
 
Judaism must change if it is to remain relevant. The future is speaking to us. Are we listening?
 
This week's Haftorah encourages us to go "back to the future." For while customs change L'Dor Va Dor (from generation to generation) values do not.
 
In the words of the Torah, the answers to life and the key to the future of Judaism is really not that baffling at all.
 
We just need to remember them from time to time.
 
Moreover, let us not judge ourselves as Jews solely by our adherence to rituals and customs but rather by the quality of our Derech Eretz, our walk of life.
 
Micah puts it into perspective. It's all about justice, goodness and humility.
 
And as they say, the rest is commentary.
 
Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv,
 
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?