The Challenge of History

It's a doozy

I’m not done with my series on liberal Judaism, but I thought that it might be time to get to the meat of things.

My primary interest in starting this newsletter is thinking through the question of how to address the challenge of history. When I say that, I primarily mean the academic study of the origins of the Jewish people. Part of this is biblical criticism, but it goes beyond that to include archaeology and history more broadly — all of which, if we are being honest, amount to a sustained attack on the validity of the mesorah that stands as the foundation for contemporary Orthodox theology.

I personally really enjoy learning early Jewish history. And, while there is a lot of academic ferment in the field, its broad strokes seem well-settled and well-supported.

So for me, the question is not how best to (literally) deconstruct the Torah. Rather, the question is how to find meaning in it after acknowledging the findings of the historical-critical method.

Being honest about the problems created by our modern understanding of Jewish history is the first step. But the real challenge is building a meaningful Judaism in light of those understandings. Hence my interest in not just history, but theology as well.

Religion is supposed to be a little bit strange and weird, but also grand, beautiful, and majestic. It is supposed to add a tinge of magic to your life, to connect you to something larger than yourself.

I started this newsletter with essays on the Reform Movement for a reason. In part, it’s because that is where I got my own Judaic start. But it’s also because I would like to make a larger argument about the Jewish people as a whole and, in that sense, it’s important to discuss what the majority of Jewish people believe and practice. I’m not willing to write them off. At the same time, I think its important to acknowledge where they went wrong and learn from their mistakes.

As I noted in my introduction to this newsletter, I don’t have all of the answers figured out. I’m working through this, just like everyone else. A lot of this is going to be a record of my own thinking aloud. Yet I also think it’s important to remember that we’re not the first generation to be confronted with these challenges.

Religious Jews have been dealing with them for well over a hundred years; depending on the issue, sometimes much longer. The challenge is perhaps not exactly the same. But we have predecessors on whose shoulders we stand, from whom we can learn what works and what doesn’t.

That is, of course, the essence of Judaism. None of us is standing alone before God. We stand there together with our brethren — those who are with us today, and those who were there before us. And, acknowledging that the work may not be ours to complete, we stand there also with those who will come after us. That is what it means to be a part of a people, and what it means to be a part of a chain of tradition. That is what it means to approach the ineffable as a Jew.

In the words of Rabbi Tarfon: “the day is short, and the work is plentiful, and the laborers are indolent, and the reward is great, and the master of the house is insistent.” These problems aren’t going to solve themselves. Let’s get to work.