What a new Judaism would entail, part 1

The basic problem driving at the heart of Judaism is secularism. The basic problem driving at its brain is modernity.



Any brand of Judaism, assuming reason to salvage Judaism at all, would have to adress these two issues. The first can be phrased most simply: what is the motivation to practice Judaism (howeverso defined)? This question is apart from the motive to salvage Judaism. If we assume that Judaism is valuable either as means or ends, that does not provide, in itself, motivation for its continuance. Value derived from meaning, as an example, can often come afterwards. Motivation must come, however, first.



This is especially the case for someone who is detached from Judaism. Clearly, for him at least, the issue of motivation is antecedent to that of value. But even for the entrenched Jew, the Jew who already ascribes meaning to Judaism, motivation is more important for his induction into Judaism than value. Even if any supposed value within Judaism is per se false, motivation would be overriding- Perhaps one views Judaism as a didactic fictionalist program. Value, in such a case, is, by definition, absent, but motivation for whatever intended result may still be relevant. A more base example, of course, would be that of the skeptic who will not leave his community in order not to lose his sense of community. There is motivation present, but not meaning.



That said, meaning and motivation are linked. If an action is valuable, there is at least some motivation to perform it. Conversely, if I have a motivation for a particular action, I may impose value upon it; that is to say, rationalize my behaviour.



But value, itself, does not seem like a particularly large problem. As noted, value can be imposed, whereas motivation is, in some sense, primary. Clearly motivation can be reactionary- but reactionary due to what? Due to circumstances addressing particular prior concerns, etc. Value is, in our sense, objective and thus external. Clearly, the value of money is not constructed as an objective fact. However, even though its genesis is subjective (even if community defined) the result is an object to value. Motivation, on the other hand, is never object orientated; it is, rather, a subject based phenomenon. The difference, succinctly, is between impulsion, and compulsion.



Value can be easy to find in Judaism to some, and impossible to others. Those that readily see value will not need a valuation, and those that do not, will likely never be convinced of one. Religion is not an easy topic to parse, especially to the skeptic. Many nowadays are have a naturalized worldview- there is simply no amount of manuervering that one could do to convince them that a supernatural conception is correct. Absent supernatural conception, religion loses its biggest reason to be viewed as valuable- that is, that is metaphysically correct. Convincing someone to value the false is an insourmountable challenge. Arguments for morality will not be convincing in terms of value- the counterexamples one could propose are nothing short of obvious.



Further, value is, in the more fundamental sense, incredibly subjective. Whether a particular metaphysics is correct or not, and whether a particular meta-normative theory is correct or not, people do impose their own values on existence. Objective goals, dreams and hopes are simply not epistemologically reachable. Even if what we value, in some important sense, corresponds or derives from a deep sense of ourselves, this does not make it objective: the particulars are clearly imposed vis a vi our primary desires, such as for food, shelter, etc. The drive for life that creates these needs is not a device that determines value. Rather, it is a motivational device. Our desire to live motivates us to seek the means of living, such as food and shelter. A job, thus, becomes valuable as it meets that which we are already motivated for. This is not to say there is no such object as objective value, rather that our closest possibility is entrenched previously in motivation. Subsequent possibilities seem more clearly nothing more than imposed values.



Lastly, the question of pioneering a new Judaism presupposes value, either in seeking to keep Judaism, or to recreate it afresh. Obviously, this very step should not be taken for granted. However, value of religion in general is a very difficult topic, made more difficult by the imposing the constraints of a particular religion. But, more importantly, this question is part of the second fundamental question I will discuss. As such, I will put it aside for now, though it will certainly impact on the issue of motivation.


Motivation per se say will be discussed in the next post.

What Audacity: Who can create a new Judaism?

This blog, and idea, should have been a long time coming. Orthodox Judaism is too reactionary, and Liberal Judaism too pandering to the currents of the day. A plurality of Jews have no affiliation to Judaism whatsoever and intermarriage is sky-high. Israel is no longer the glue that can bind Jews together.

What is needed is a revolution. A revolution that addresses all the issue that face Jews and Judaism, and doesn't shy away from any elephants in the room.

We are called in our task to be an Or L'Goyim, a 'Light to the Nations.' Judaism has inspired Christianity and Islam. But right now, they carry the torch. Where is our light? We are too caught up in party politics, the harrows of antisemitism and the Holocaust, and the Israel game to focus on the real goal, our real task.

That goal is the creation of a new Covenant, a true new covenant. A new Covenant between man and G-d. A new covenant between each and every fellow Jew. A new covenant between the entire world. It is time to stop letting the currents sweep us along, and it is time for us to force the tide ourselves. It is time to stop reacting, and start just acting.

The pain does not stop. The separation does not either. We are at once a nation set apart, and a nation diffused throughout the four corners of the globe. We wish for hearts of stone, but what we really need is hearts of flesh. Our wounds will not heal on their own. Neither can we expect anyone else to heal them. It is ours and ours alone.

We have faltered, and we have been lead astray. We have willingly gone astray. It is time to take back that which is ours. The time for blame has ended, the time for action has begun.

We must create anew that which we have lost. We must create from scratch that which we have abandoned.

Though he has tarried, we have waited faithfully. We have waited for that man, that perfect man, to fix us. We have waited for that time, that perfect time, to allow us to flourish. It is time to stop waiting. To wait is not Judaism; it is simply laziness.

To be Jewish is to fight evil. To ask why, to wait, to pontificate and equivocate is to forget mission en totem.

The time has come for a new Judaism.