[2348] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: The role of religion
amgreene@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (amgreene@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Sun Sep 15 18:28:51 1991
:-) So has anyone read my posting in interfaith, or should I have not
bothered to try to shift this over to there?
`Chosen.' Yes, it's a burden, not an elevation per se, and it's one of
those poorly-chosen phrases. It means that Jews believe that we were
given these extra 606 laws to set an example of the difference between
holy and merely moral behaviour. It's `chosen' the same way you might
be `chosen' to do a math problem on the board in second grade. It's
not that you're necessarily innately better at math, but if the teacher
calls you to the board every day, you're gonna make darned sure that
you stay on top of the material.
Most of what I was going to say in reply to Dave was already posted by
Jik. I can't pick-and-choose among the laws because I believe that they
are God-given; that doesn't mean that I *don't* pick and choose, but it
does mean that I am trying to observe more and more of them. Examples
of some of the ones I don't keep are some aspects of Kashrut, going to
three services a day, and building a Sukkah. On the other hand, in the
past few years I have started to observe Shabbat, increased my observance
of Kashrut, reduced (I wouldn't suggets that I eliminated) L'shon HaRah
(the "evil tongue," defined most succinctly as "gossip when true, slander
when false,") etc.
Judasim rejects faith without doubt as being dangerous (that way lies
fanaticism). A Jew is not required to believe in God per se, but the
Jew who does not take the body of Jewish laws, customs, and rituals as
a serious basis for life is going to drift away from the Jewish community.
Maybe not this year, maybe not this generation, but his grandchildren
are not going to understand much besides "Hanukah is the Jewish Christmas"
and "Passover is when the family gets together for a big meal with those
funky crackers." Why is Hanukah the most-celebrated Jewish holiday
today, if it is the *only* Jewish holiday not established in the Bible?
