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April 17, 2009
Speaking about their beliefs
Young community adults were asked: Do you believe in God?
DEENA LEVENSTEIN
The continuity of the Jewish people depends, of course, on the passing down of Judaism's beliefs and/or traditions to the next generations. The holiday of Passover has just ended, its central story being the Exodus, whereby God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt with an outstretched arm. Monotheism is central to Judaism, so the Jewish Independent asked a few younger members of the community the following question: "Do you believe in God and how does your belief, or lack thereof, affect your life?"
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I believe "God" is a very loaded word that has lost most of its meaning. I contribute this to the bureaucracy in religion. It seems to have either turned people off completely from spirituality or it has blindly indoctrinated and confused them.
I don't like to use the word God. I like to use the terms higher power or an energy that is always moving and is attracted to some people more than others, depending on how they respond to the energy (like explained in the book The Celestine Prophecy). I like to use the word synchronicity. It is something I feel when I'm in nature and it changes, depending [on] my setting.
On a few personal occasions, I've experienced this synchronicity. The most meaningful one to me was the time I "randomly" bumped into a childhood friend while travelling Europe. This meeting turned out to be exactly what he needed since that day he'd just received extremely difficult news about his sister's health. He subsequently travelled with me, which was very therapeutic for him.
It's moments like these that separate me from someone who believes in nothing at all to someone who believes in a higher power/energy.
– Anonymous
23-year-old male who is involved in the community
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I do believe in God. I didn't always believe in God and I would even make fun of religious people. After the army, I left Israel. Alone for the first time, I met amazing Jews, many of them very religious. These people took me in, treated me like part of the family and gave me jobs. They didn't care that I have piercings and tattoos because my soul is Jewish.
I saw this was no fluke because in my travels around the world the Jewish community always embraced me.
I started looking at these religious people and traditions from a different angle. It actually started to make sense to me! Maybe it's because I'm a bit older now, or just out of Israel for a long time. Now I'm proud to be Jewish and I feel special among other people (not to be racist or anything).
Among other things, today I try to go to synagogue every Friday for Shabbat services, I put tefillin on every day and I don't eat pork. For almost every single action I do, the Ten Commandments pass through my head very quickly and I consider if I'm crossing one of them.
JI: The question was about God and you answered about Jews.
It's hard to talk about God without mentioning the people and the experiences that brought me closer to Him. Believe me, I could right an essay on the issue.
– Rotem Tal
25-year-old arts student at Simon Fraser University
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It is not so much that I believe in God, but rather that I know there is a God. Knowing that there is a God who recreates the world constantly affects my life on a daily basis, from hour to hour, minute to minute, and even second to second.
Hashem knows that, in our day-to-day life, we have a lot to think about, such as providing for our families, taking care of children, shopping, learning, etc. In this hustle and bustle, it is quite easy to forget, God forbid, that there is a Creator who is a greater power. Therefore, I feel especially thankful that God saw fit to make holiness part of everything that a Jew does, from the seemingly smallest action of tying ones shoes in the correct order in the morning, to making Kiddush Friday night. Following these intricacies illuminates my life and is a constant reminder that the Jewish people are part of the divine.
Being that I know that everything that happens in my life, and in the world for that matter, is divinely planned and, even more so, that it happens because it is for the good and ultimately for my benefit, fills my life with positivity and enables me to say, "Thank G-d," instead of "Why me?"
– Nuta Yisrael Shurack
30-year-old mental health worker and social work student
Deena Levenstein is a freelance writer from Toronto, Jerusalem and now Vancouver. Visit her blog at www.blogmidrash.wordpress.com.
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