I got several private messages challenging what I wrote and arguing that judaism's value and its divinity are inseperable. I wanted to share a response I wrote to one reader which i think can help clarify my position.
When I originally lost my faith I actually went through a short process in trying to "patch up" my skepticism by appealing to nonstandard epistemologies or these kinds of ideas about Judaism. However, in my mind it was still am attempt to "restore" my faith, and I couldn't in good faith fool myself of something I truly believed was false. Eventually I ditched it and started seeing myself as completely secular.
However, try as I might, I still kept on seeing myself reverting to Jewish spaces or areas of interest. When I picked up a sefer I still felt a deep connection and when I met a Jew I still felt a deep affinity. I eventually decided to pursue Jewish studies in an academic context, and my appreciation of our culture, history, and traditions has just been growing more and more. It's not even that I have an objective argument why Judaism or Jews are "worthier", but that this story, perspective, community and tradition is inextricably tied up with my life and I would be denying my own identity by rejecting it. Do I believe that God wants anything to do with judaism? Absolutely not. But I want to, and this is who I am.
This experience led me to rethink why and how people are committed to religion in the first place. Although most people obviously believe in the claims religions make, they are often abstract and not really conclusions people think about. Rather, the connection to religion is the emotional identification with the messages and stories the religion imparts, and it frames how people view their role in the world and thier experiences themselves. This further explains how and why religions develop and the job of a theologian who crafts the narratives people need to hear.
This is not pandering to "belief in belief", rather it's recognizing that there is something underlying belief which doesn't go away just because belief itself does.
From a materialist perspective, the universe is pure apathetic physics and mathematics. We just a bunch of molecules bouncing around on a giant spacerock in a vast universe which will eventually disintegrate and there will not even be anyone to remember that we ever existed.
Those are facts. Why is it depressing for many people? That's not facts, that's subjective interpretation. That's a narrative- life is random, erratic, pointless, and not worthy. I reject that narrative because I experience life itself. Life to me is potential, growing, healthy experiences, family, community, being productive, learning, having fun, seeing the world, etc etc etc. That to me is meaningful, and that shapes my subjective interpretation of the world. My subjective interpretation is further molded by my Jewish tradition, community and history. Its a fundamental part of the story of my life, the one I tell myself and the one I continue writing every day
Reminds me of someone I know who believes in God, Torah mi Sinai, oral law, and even in Zohar, and says that he is not religious because Judaism is "the TRUUUUTHHHHH!"
I got several private messages challenging what I wrote and arguing that judaism's value and its divinity are inseperable. I wanted to share a response I wrote to one reader which i think can help clarify my position.
When I originally lost my faith I actually went through a short process in trying to "patch up" my skepticism by appealing to nonstandard epistemologies or these kinds of ideas about Judaism. However, in my mind it was still am attempt to "restore" my faith, and I couldn't in good faith fool myself of something I truly believed was false. Eventually I ditched it and started seeing myself as completely secular.
However, try as I might, I still kept on seeing myself reverting to Jewish spaces or areas of interest. When I picked up a sefer I still felt a deep connection and when I met a Jew I still felt a deep affinity. I eventually decided to pursue Jewish studies in an academic context, and my appreciation of our culture, history, and traditions has just been growing more and more. It's not even that I have an objective argument why Judaism or Jews are "worthier", but that this story, perspective, community and tradition is inextricably tied up with my life and I would be denying my own identity by rejecting it. Do I believe that God wants anything to do with judaism? Absolutely not. But I want to, and this is who I am.
This experience led me to rethink why and how people are committed to religion in the first place. Although most people obviously believe in the claims religions make, they are often abstract and not really conclusions people think about. Rather, the connection to religion is the emotional identification with the messages and stories the religion imparts, and it frames how people view their role in the world and thier experiences themselves. This further explains how and why religions develop and the job of a theologian who crafts the narratives people need to hear.
This is not pandering to "belief in belief", rather it's recognizing that there is something underlying belief which doesn't go away just because belief itself does.
From a materialist perspective, the universe is pure apathetic physics and mathematics. We just a bunch of molecules bouncing around on a giant spacerock in a vast universe which will eventually disintegrate and there will not even be anyone to remember that we ever existed.
Those are facts. Why is it depressing for many people? That's not facts, that's subjective interpretation. That's a narrative- life is random, erratic, pointless, and not worthy. I reject that narrative because I experience life itself. Life to me is potential, growing, healthy experiences, family, community, being productive, learning, having fun, seeing the world, etc etc etc. That to me is meaningful, and that shapes my subjective interpretation of the world. My subjective interpretation is further molded by my Jewish tradition, community and history. Its a fundamental part of the story of my life, the one I tell myself and the one I continue writing every day
Reminds me of someone I know who believes in God, Torah mi Sinai, oral law, and even in Zohar, and says that he is not religious because Judaism is "the TRUUUUTHHHHH!"