A visitor to this blog left me a lovely comment, and while some of it was personal, she was kind enough to allow me to quote her questions and reply on the blog, so here goes, this is from Karen -
Can Jewish tradition exist without belief in Judaism? Are there vocal non-believers in Israel? What is the essence of Israel’s problem: in it’s region, and then in the larger world?
Let me start by saying that my answers reflect my own personal views – and I’m sure others out there may have different ones. Disclaimer aside, here are my thoughts.
If by belief in Judaism one means belief in God and/or organized Jewish religion, then by all means, I do believe that Jewish tradition can exist without these. There are many totally secular, agnostic and atheist Jews living in Israel (our family is just one of many like them). We don’t follow a lot of the rules of Judaism: we don’t keep to the rules of kashrut, we drive on Shabbat, we eat on Yom Kippur and we don’t visit the synagogue. We nonetheless consider ourselves to be Jewish, all the way, in terms of national and cultural identity. For me, that means things like speaking Hebrew, celebrating the Jewish Holidays (while not observing them), having the Shabbat as our day of rest and a multitude of other small details that make up our daily life.
It’s an excellent question, because for me, it touches on the core of Zionism. Zionism for me, is being able to live in a Jewish State, where the national holidays, the day of rest, the traditional foods and so forth, are all Jewish, yet there is no need to observe them to. Judaism turns into a daily way of life, a culture, rather than a religion. I think that families like mine, living outside of Israel, often Judaism and turn into something else. Outside of Israel, it seems to me, you have to make an effort to be Jewish and keep to a Jewish way of life. Here, it’s just the way things are, even when totally secular and unrelated to religion.
Are the non-believers, i.e. the totally secular, atheists, vocal? I think that in terms of the media, and people of influence, yes. Nobody makes a secret of being secular or an atheist and it’s perfectly legitimate in the part of society which I belong to. There are places in Israel where that might be less acceptable, but overall, it’s not much of an issue. There is always tension between the religious and non-religious though. The ultra-religious, through their political parties try to shift things towards a more religious ways. Had it been up to them, we would have no shops open on Shabbat and all food sold in the Jewish towns and cities would be kosher. Fortunately, the secular people are vocal enough not to let that happen. There is a famous status quo, with no public transportation in Shabbat, for example, which is pretty much kept through out the years, with each side trying to nudge it into their direction every now and again.
As for the essence of Israel’s problem. Wow, big question. There’s a part of me that wants to type, “What problem?”. Like any country, Israel has a lot of problems, really, which could be discussed from various angles. I guess it’s like asking what is the essence of America’s problem – there are so many, at any point in history… I’d love to get more specific, if there are certain aspects that you’re more interested in though!
Thanks for leaving me the comment – take care and stay cool in the Georgia summer!
