Sunday, January 29, 2006

"Good Jew"

I had an interesting conversation one night of my Israel trip with our Israeli guard that came with our group to "protect" us. Let's call him Sam. Sam was recently released from the army and was potently disgusted by religious intrusions into his life. He mentioned that while he was in the army the rules were strict in terms of keeping the soldiers eating only kosher food. Soldiers could get punished, he said, for going out and eating a cheeseburger.

We also discussed the Gaza withdrawal. He was definitely for it. Did you know that about a quarter of the standing Israeli army was stationed in the Gaza area? He was clearly a political leftist as he was very much sympathetic with the Palestinians as he said that the majority just wanted peace (though recent election results would appear to undermine that statement). He also described the extremists on either side of the conflict in equal terms, though he acknowledged that there were more of them on the Palestinian side.

The part of the discussion that I found most interesting was however on the subject of the place of tradition in Jewish life and the future of the Jewish people. He had said that living your life in a certain way just because that's how people have lived in the past is a form of slavery. That we should each find our own path in life and live it.

Well, alright, I said, but what about the future of Jewish life and the Jewish people? How can we hope to survive as a cohesive body if we don't respect tradition and keep it alive? His response to this was very telling. "I don't care," he said. "I don't care."

Wow. Well then. It would appear that being so anti-tradition is not so much a factor of being against "slavery" but actually a simple instance of selfishness.

The question then is, can we fault such an individual for that kind of viewpoint? Does being a "good Jew" require working for (or at least caring about) the future of the Jewish people? Or does his virtue as an individual overrule any consideration on a Jewish value scale?

Are those who have a different vision for the future of Jewish life, which others may see as subversive, being good Jews?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why is it selfishness? Why does the coincidence of his birth compell him to further the existence of a particular culture? I can see why you might want to, but how could you convince someone else that he's required to -- or he's being selfish?

Orthoprax said...

Anon,

It is clearly a form of selfishness as it is a circumstance where the individual puts himself before his community or people. The "self" is paramount.

But in any case, I anticipated your reply and I asked the question, "Or does his virtue as an individual overrule any consideration on a Jewish value scale?"

Anonymous said...

You say "his community or his people" but what makes them so? Taking that as the initial assumption is circular when I asked you why the coincidence of his birth compells him to further the existence of a particular culture [or community/people]?

Orthoprax said...

Anon,

That's what a heritage is. As an individual, a person is free to contribute to or reject that heritage and in either choice the person loses no integrity as an individual human being. However, if a Jew rejects his heritage and his community and his people, how can he then be considered a good Jew?

A Jew who wishes to be considered a Jew in good standing has to, at the very least, care about the Jewish people. He is not compelled by external forces, but by a very sensible understanding of how groups work. If one operates against the interests of a group, why should the group judge him favorably?

Anonymous said...

Orthoprax,

The problem seems to be interrelated with the nature of what you call a heritage. To some they are simply man-made laws that in many cases are arbitrary, and often are extremely burdensome and have significant negative consequences for those who observe them. A person who rejects this is not a good Jew only in the sense that he fails to follow traditional rules. He does not operate against the interests of a group, although he might operate against the interests of the Orthodox rabbinate.

The questions I have are why do you think such a peson works against the interests of the group, why do you think observing those rules makes one a "good Jew", and why is it important to be a "good Jew?" Personally I think that if there's an afterlife, the rabbis who come up with many of these rules that are then imposed on everyone else, are going to have give an accounting for themselves.

Anonymous said...

Oops, sorry, previous message should have been signed:

Another anon

Orthoprax said...

Anon2,

To be fair, I didn't say that following the laws is necessarily correlated with what makes a good Jew. There's been some miscommunication. I said that caring about the future of the Jewish people is definitely part of what makes a good Jew.

On a personal level, I happen to think that the future of Jewish life, especially in the Diaspora, is best preserved through the continued living in tradition. There may be a better way of doing it but I haven't been able to think of it.

I can think of many non-traditional and non-religious Jews who have still worked for the betterment of the Jewish people and the Jewish future. I would call those good Jews. One needs to be a committed individual to the Jewish people and the future of Jewish life to be a good Jew. I don't believe there is just one way of doing that successfully either.

The Jewish Freak said...

I would argue that one's virtue as an individual can not be entirely separated from being a "good Jew". Someone who turns his back on his family in need is not considered virtuous, but selfish. Of course, one does not ask to be born into a family in need, but that does not change the facts on the ground. Other ethinic groups do not seem to separate individual virtue from loyalty to the group, as it is natural to think this way. If Judaism was only a religion I could understand. But it is not just a religion, it is as you say - a heritage, and it is also your family.

BTW, welcome back. Glad you enjoyed you trip to Israel.

Orthoprax said...

JF,

"Someone who turns his back on his family in need is not considered virtuous, but selfish."

Well, that sounds a bit extreme. The Jewish people are not as cozy an organization as one's immediate family. It's more on the level of being a bad citizen than turning one's back on their family, though I still do share your understanding of how Jews share a closer bond than do the citizens of many other modern nations or ethnicities.

"BTW, welcome back. Glad you enjoyed you trip to Israel."

Ah, thanks very much.

B. Spinoza said...

>Wow. Well then. It would appear that being so anti-tradition is not so much a factor of being against "slavery" but actually a simple instance of selfishness.

not caring about the Jewish people is called being selfish? define selfishness? If you mean by selfish someone who only cares about himself, then I don't see how you can make this judgement based on what "Sam" said. he said he didn't care about the fate of The Jewish people not that he didn't care about Jewish People (as individuals). Maybe he identifies more with human beings in general over a specific race. I don't think I would call such an attitude as selfish

Orthoprax said...

Spinoza,

"Maybe he identifies more with human beings in general over a specific race."

Hmm, I suppose that's possible, but that wasn't the impression I got when I spoke with him.