I would appreciate Judaism not being lumped together with or subsumed
under Christianity by the phrases "Judeo-Christian" or "the major Western
religions." Judaism is as different from Christianity as both are from
Buddhism or Islam or Ray Harrell's Native tribal practices. We have a
completely different understanding of good and evil, sin, the Messiah,
afterlife, charity, relationship with God, nature of God -- I could go on
and on.
If you take exception to some aspect of Christianity, don't assume Judaism
shares the same concept. If you have a beef about the "Old Testament,"
check whose version you are referring to (our Torah is the original Hebrew
and we interpret it very differently than Christians) and learn something
about the social context of the practices you are critiquing (as I suspect
you would if it were a 3rd World or Eastern religion where you knew you
were ignorant). If you have an informed critique of some aspect of
Judaism--well, I have some myself. (There is a saying: "Two Jews, three
opinions." We enjoy discussing our culture and religion with those who
respect us.)
In many ways Judaism is much closer to tribal religions than to
universalist ones such as Islam and Christianity. (Ray spoke of this in a
post several months back.) When you convert to Judaism, you aren't "saved"
and you do not necessarily subscribe to any particular idea about God. You
join a people and agree to live by its codes for behaving appropriately in
community. Presumably those codes were what attracted you in the first
place. (The "religious" rationale is that God gave us the Torah and
mitzvot as tools for righteous and reasonable living and we are grateful.)
Most of our prayers say "we" instead of "I," and our rituals take place in
groups of at least 10 adult (meaning = having knowingly taken on the
mitzvot--adult duties--of the community) Jews, or in a family group.
Judaism is more about deed than creed, and emphasizes behavior in this
life rather than reward in the next. (Most Jewish prayer consists of
noticing how wonderful the world is as manifestation of the Divine. Good
basis for scientific exploration, I think. Study is considered a form of
worship, and is conducted by discussion; again, good training for
scientists.)
I know some Christians who are thoughtful, live their beliefs deeply, and
respect mine. I have learned from them. But the phrase "Judeo-Christian,"
and the thinking that usually accompanies it, treats my people as a
vestigial appendix to Christianity; it is inaccurate and disrespectful. If
you mean to say: "the edifice of history/philosophy/ethics that led to
modern Western society," may I suggest the phrase "Western civilization"?
Judith Weiss
(PS. I also think Judaism is a great example of an LO. We are among the
oldest continuing peoples on this planet, and the only one I know of which
has gone through 4-5 major historical changes in how we construct our
identity (as we adapted to external circumstances) and survived with
unbroken psychological continuity back to our earliest ancestors, all
without a continuous homeland.)
--jsweiss@mail.utexas.edu (Judith Weiss)
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