Judaism and its universal appeal

EUGENE KAELLIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

In the last of a three-part series on proselytizing, this article presents several aspects of Judaism that make it unique and potentially attractive to non-Jews.

What are the basic principles of normative Judaism that distinguish it from other major world religions, especially Christianity, that would make it acceptable or, more precisely, attractive to many people now living in North America? What follows are some of these basic principles, as well as some of the potential benefits of a missionizing campaign by Jews.

Judaism's uniqueness

• Belief in one eternal, infinite, immanent and transcendent God who endows the lives of individuals and events with meaning and with whom people can enter into an unbreakable covenant, rather than the confusing Chrisian belief in a god incarnate and the trinity.

• Acceptance of a God whose manifestations are known but is in essence ineffable, rather than speculation on the substance and identity of God, upon which a good deal of Christian thought is expended.

• Establishment of a direct, personal relationship between every individual and God, rather than one mediated by church-administered sacraments. There are no sacraments in Judaism and, in a strict sense, there is no clergy. When it comes to learning, rabbis are assumed to be primum inter pares, and even then not always.

• Emphasis on improving the behavior of people rather than on "correcting" their beliefs. There is no Jewish equivalent of the Apostle's Creed. As Rabbi Heschel has stated, "A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of thought."

• Acceptance that the ways to God are many, rather than insistence that there is only one way (John 14:6). The exclusivity of Christianity has rendered it aggressive and intolerant toward other religions and ideologically demanding toward its own adherents, sometimes to a lethal extent. Judaism relies on basic moral principles, the interpretation and application of which can differ among people of goodwill, knowledge and wisdom.

• Recognition that people are born with the propensity for either good or evil; that they have free will and personal choice and responsibility, rather than positing original sin, with salvation achieved only through the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus and justification only through acceptance of Jesus as redeemer. Judaism sees every person as his or her own redeemer.

• Appreciation, through the talmudic method, of the spiritual and intellectual growth of humankind as an ongoing process, rather than holding that it is a completed circumstance awaiting only divine reappearance (the Second Coming) for fulfilment.

• Acceptance of the pursuit of pleasure as a worthy human activity, rather than derogation of matter and the body as the occasions of sin. While normative Judaism has never promoted hedonism, neither has it advocated asceticism. One foray into this mode, the Nazarites, was short-lasting and its members could be abstemious for only a relatively short time before being required to return to normal life. Another, the Essenes, was also of relatively short duration. Furthermore, compare the Talmud's statements on sexual activity with the penumbra of guilt under which it exists in Christianity, or the Buddhist insistence on chastity for monks and nuns.

• Acknowledgment of its primitive origin and the human defects of its foremost leaders (for example, Moses, who had a speech defect and angered God by his presumption; Saul, who was evidently mentally unbalanced; and David, who connived to kill Uriah so he could have Batsheba) rather than the claim of absolute perfection for its exemplar, as in Christianity (an immaculate conception, a virgin birth, a perfect life, death and resurrection), combined with a selective appropriation of tradition prior to his advent (as in Christianity, in which the message of the prophets is seen simply as anticipating the advent of Jesus).

• Emphasis on this life with little speculation on the world beyond, rather than emphasis on punishment or reward in an afterlife, which tends to devalue this life. Witness how the scourge of suicide bombings has demonstrated that emphasis on the presumed rewards of an afterlife devalues one's present existence and the lives of others. Christianity promises eternal life in heaven or eternal damnation in the fires of hell.

• Emphasis on personal redemption within the context of social responsibility, rather than emphasis on personal ethics (and pride in "virtue") regardless of social consequences, as, for example, in St. Augustine's insistence that he would never lie even if telling the truth could result in the death of an innocent.

• Acceptance of the fact that natural science describes the natural world. The Jewish Testament describes what, from our present perpective, can be called natural events which, according to the idiom of the scribes, were miraculous. However, they do not appear after the Book of Joshua (10:12). (The later "miracle" of Chanukah is not mentioned in the Jewish Testament.) The Christian Testament, written much later, is laden with supernaturalism. Apart from the
miracles surrounding Jesus' conception and birth, the Christian Testament lists 35 allegedly observed miracles attributed to Jesus, 21 in Mark alone.

• Although this series has emphasized the differences between Judaism and Christianity because Diaspora Jews live in a largely Christian environment, Judaism compares favorably with other religions, such as Buddhism, by its emphasis on the social context in which people live, rather than emphasizing their own presumed spiritual enhancement without regard to social awareness and responsibility.

Missionizing benefits

• Proselytizing would, among Jews, enhance knowledge of the basic principles and theology of Judaism, a knowledge often lacking. Even many observant Jews, while practising rituals and participating in services, have rarely given thought to the underlying principles of Judaism and what makes it unique and important among the world's spiritual aggregations.

• It would raise respect for these principles, particularly when they are contrasted with those of other religions, thus making Jewish identification more profound and meaningful.

• It would increase resistance to Christian and other proselytizing efforts and to secularism and assimilation, by emphasizing the relevance of Judaism to contemporary life.

• A proselytizing campaign by Jews would perforce attenuate cultural, racial and class biases among Jews.

• It would, to use the words of Martin Luther King, generate "creative tensions" within the Jewish community.

• It would stimulate a 21st-century radical reform of Judaism. Periodic tremors are part of the vitality of any system, whether it be of science, politics or religion. Jews must be sure that they are continuing with the tradition of "God wrestling" in the spirit of Jacob-Israel.

• A serious proselytizing effort would substitute chutzpah for fear, action for reaction, assertiveness for defensiveness.

• It would educate Christians about the built-in anti-Judaism of their religion and suggest ways in which they could alter that.

• It would substitute an acceptance of evitability (sic), replacing the comforting but unrealistic belief that the continued existence of Jews and Judaism is somehow guaranteed.

• It would translate the hope that there will one day be an end to anti-Semitism into a meaningful program to diminish, defeat and then eliminate it.

What kind of people may be induced by a proselytizing effort to become adherents of Judaism? What would motivate them? Ideally they should be motivated by their convictions growing from enlightenment and education. But it would be unrealistic to assume that this would be the only factor.

There will certainly be converts who will be influenced by what might be called opportunistic incentives. These would include people who want to avail themselves of the considerable philanthropy and charitable resources of the Jewish community. It would also include people who (however mistakenly) feel that they have no ethnicity in their lives and are attracted by what they perceive to be Jewish ethnicity. There could be those who are simply attracted to the novelty of becoming Jews.

It may be unrealistic to expect established congregations and organizations to undertake proselytizing activities. Individual Jews, especially those in youth organizations or chavurot could establish Web sites, hold classes, discuss the issue among themselves and develop a literature of conversion and the liturgies, rituals and ceremonies that would reflect the movement's agenda.

Jews take great pride in their ability to survive and we have thus far. But in many instances, we have developed the notion that our survival is somehow assured. This is a misleading and deceptive notion. Jews can disappear as a religious community just as other communities have disappeared over the centuries. The only "guarantee" that this will not happen is our own efforts.

Dr. Eugene Kaellis is a retired academic living in New Westminster.

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