These days I keep thinking of what it means being a Jew in the 21st century. Our times of almost unlimited access to information with very limited capacity to adequately absorb this vast ocean of knowledge bring about a significant paradigm shift in our thinking- all possible theories of "know-it-all" become obsolete, as they obviously seem to ignore the present reality.
Somehow humanity became more humble it seems- no one is making a claim that he possesses the Truth anymore - or at least, should be make such a claim, he most likely would be perceived as somewhat naive at best, or simply ignorant and almost irrelevant.
And yet, our religious tradition is based to a large extent on precisely such a claim-
We stood at Sinai, G-d gave us the Torah- the Book that represents the Ultimate Truth and gives us a clear path to follow it ! And despite all the difficulties with such an approach in our times, you can still find significant number of teachers that follow it, times and difficulties notwithstanding
Sure enough, Judaism opposes moral and intellectual relativism, that became so common in our days.
Yet it seems, we can't ignore the challenge of Post-Modernism, which is here to bring us to a point of greater understanding of the world and the mystery behind its Creation. As Rav Kook pointed out each new era brings with it new aspects of Divine Revelation, and if we live at such exciting times of the internet, time that gives us rather unique opportunity to explore the world without even making a step outdoors- basically putting the whole world at our fingertips- it should certainly be seen as a great challenge to our religious worldview, formulated and shaped to a large extent in times when our interaction with the world was very different.
Does it mean that we shall simply reformulate our religious credo and ignore all the aspects of our tradition, that seem to be in conflict with current understanding? As an Orthodox Rabbi I certainly cannot suggest such an approach. In fact, I believe any honest Jew who cares about his faith and tradition wouldn't accept such a suggestion- the moment something in your tradition doesn't seem to fit into "mainstream" of the world around- just dispose of it, as of outdated and irrelevant burden.
Some tried this in the past, and to a large extent they are totally lost to Judaism and to our people.
And if we believe in eternal message of the Torah and our destiny in this world - to make this world a better place, by bringing Divine Presence here, making it manifest in all aspects of our life- we should certainly think again!
So here we have two extremes that are still so common in our attempts to deal with the ongoing crisis of Faith-
First approach suggests to ignore the challenge of today and deems it irrelevant, locking Judaism firmly within the walls of intellectual and spiritual ghetto. In my opinion, such an approach doesn't allow us to grow and in its desire to adhere to most "authentic" traditional forms, it often ignores the need to EXPLORE and SEEK G-d in this world !
On the other hand, we see various attempts to "water down" traditional Judaism, presumably making it more palatable for human consumption- but as a result, such "parve" Judaism fails to inspire
people, and doesn't give you any valuable message that you can implement in your life- nothing new, that you don't know from your mainstream culture.
We are the nation of Explorers and Seekers, starting all the way from Abraham. Our tradition should GROW and EVOLVE- as a tree, that grows all the way from its roots. This way we can make sure that it stays both authentic ( loyal to its own foundations ), and vibrant at the same time !
We desperately need a PARADIGM SHIFT in our thinking- and here's my suggestion.
In all our sources we find no clear definition of G-d, as here's BEYOND such definitions. We are called to emulate G-d and follow his ways- but how do we accomplish such a lofty mission ?
First of all, we need to consider our understanding of G-d- limited of course, and yet pointing out at our level of connection with Him. If in the past G-d was seen as STATIC- unchanging and unmoving ( Aristotelean view ascribed movement to imperfection - and Maimonides famously accepted this position ) - in our times we understand reality as a process of constant evolvement, orchestrated and managed by G-d. So G-d is not an unmoving Absolute, seating on his Throne of Glory ( something we can hardly emulate at all, with our very limited human qualities )- rather, he's an ULTIMATE
EXPLORER, constantly changing and renewing his world- " renewing with His goodness every day the Original Creation " ( my translation of the words in Siddur ).
Such dynamic G-d of change and renewal is calling us to EXPLORE the world, and make it a better place- this way we can truly fulfill the dictum of "in the Image of G-d" !
What does it mean practically speaking?
If we usually think of religious role-model as some sort of a " I know all the answers " type - here we
come to discover fundamentally different character- I wish to call him JEWISH EXPLORER ( JE )
JE is in a constant state of BECOMING, he seeks to learn from everyone and sees his interaction with G-d in everyday Life, carefully listening to His subtle Voice- both in the outside world ( "what is this man doing in my life?" "Why am I here? " ) and in his inner world ( notice your "gut feeling", be in touch with yourself ).
As opposed to the great role models of the past, who were perceived as almost super-human, JE IS WELL AWARE OF HIS HUMANITY - which makes him humble and yet encourages him to keep growing !
JE values a good and honest question MORE than a half-honest answer, that pretends to "explain it all", cutting corners in the process.
JE is that part of us that wants more Truth, more Love and more G-d in this world
Somehow humanity became more humble it seems- no one is making a claim that he possesses the Truth anymore - or at least, should be make such a claim, he most likely would be perceived as somewhat naive at best, or simply ignorant and almost irrelevant.
And yet, our religious tradition is based to a large extent on precisely such a claim-
We stood at Sinai, G-d gave us the Torah- the Book that represents the Ultimate Truth and gives us a clear path to follow it ! And despite all the difficulties with such an approach in our times, you can still find significant number of teachers that follow it, times and difficulties notwithstanding
Sure enough, Judaism opposes moral and intellectual relativism, that became so common in our days.
Yet it seems, we can't ignore the challenge of Post-Modernism, which is here to bring us to a point of greater understanding of the world and the mystery behind its Creation. As Rav Kook pointed out each new era brings with it new aspects of Divine Revelation, and if we live at such exciting times of the internet, time that gives us rather unique opportunity to explore the world without even making a step outdoors- basically putting the whole world at our fingertips- it should certainly be seen as a great challenge to our religious worldview, formulated and shaped to a large extent in times when our interaction with the world was very different.
Does it mean that we shall simply reformulate our religious credo and ignore all the aspects of our tradition, that seem to be in conflict with current understanding? As an Orthodox Rabbi I certainly cannot suggest such an approach. In fact, I believe any honest Jew who cares about his faith and tradition wouldn't accept such a suggestion- the moment something in your tradition doesn't seem to fit into "mainstream" of the world around- just dispose of it, as of outdated and irrelevant burden.
Some tried this in the past, and to a large extent they are totally lost to Judaism and to our people.
And if we believe in eternal message of the Torah and our destiny in this world - to make this world a better place, by bringing Divine Presence here, making it manifest in all aspects of our life- we should certainly think again!
So here we have two extremes that are still so common in our attempts to deal with the ongoing crisis of Faith-
First approach suggests to ignore the challenge of today and deems it irrelevant, locking Judaism firmly within the walls of intellectual and spiritual ghetto. In my opinion, such an approach doesn't allow us to grow and in its desire to adhere to most "authentic" traditional forms, it often ignores the need to EXPLORE and SEEK G-d in this world !
On the other hand, we see various attempts to "water down" traditional Judaism, presumably making it more palatable for human consumption- but as a result, such "parve" Judaism fails to inspire
people, and doesn't give you any valuable message that you can implement in your life- nothing new, that you don't know from your mainstream culture.
We are the nation of Explorers and Seekers, starting all the way from Abraham. Our tradition should GROW and EVOLVE- as a tree, that grows all the way from its roots. This way we can make sure that it stays both authentic ( loyal to its own foundations ), and vibrant at the same time !
We desperately need a PARADIGM SHIFT in our thinking- and here's my suggestion.
In all our sources we find no clear definition of G-d, as here's BEYOND such definitions. We are called to emulate G-d and follow his ways- but how do we accomplish such a lofty mission ?
First of all, we need to consider our understanding of G-d- limited of course, and yet pointing out at our level of connection with Him. If in the past G-d was seen as STATIC- unchanging and unmoving ( Aristotelean view ascribed movement to imperfection - and Maimonides famously accepted this position ) - in our times we understand reality as a process of constant evolvement, orchestrated and managed by G-d. So G-d is not an unmoving Absolute, seating on his Throne of Glory ( something we can hardly emulate at all, with our very limited human qualities )- rather, he's an ULTIMATE
EXPLORER, constantly changing and renewing his world- " renewing with His goodness every day the Original Creation " ( my translation of the words in Siddur ).
Such dynamic G-d of change and renewal is calling us to EXPLORE the world, and make it a better place- this way we can truly fulfill the dictum of "in the Image of G-d" !
What does it mean practically speaking?
If we usually think of religious role-model as some sort of a " I know all the answers " type - here we
come to discover fundamentally different character- I wish to call him JEWISH EXPLORER ( JE )
JE is in a constant state of BECOMING, he seeks to learn from everyone and sees his interaction with G-d in everyday Life, carefully listening to His subtle Voice- both in the outside world ( "what is this man doing in my life?" "Why am I here? " ) and in his inner world ( notice your "gut feeling", be in touch with yourself ).
As opposed to the great role models of the past, who were perceived as almost super-human, JE IS WELL AWARE OF HIS HUMANITY - which makes him humble and yet encourages him to keep growing !
JE values a good and honest question MORE than a half-honest answer, that pretends to "explain it all", cutting corners in the process.
JE is that part of us that wants more Truth, more Love and more G-d in this world
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