Christians, Jews, Le'bnsshpil = lifestyle - way of life, Religiosity + Way of Expressing Faith

Authentic Self and the Assimilated Jew, Part 3: Secular/Assimilated Jew?

 

Judaism isn’t just a religion.
Many Jews, religious and secular Jews alike,
feel a Jewish peoplehood connection,
or a cultural connection with Jewish tradition,
even if they don’t connect with the religious obligation element.

 

We are regularly asked whether not every Jew follows the Law.

Many people claim that Judaism is at its essence a religion, a set of beliefs about the world

To this, we are always sad to report that there are quite a few secular Jews. Jews who, like many Christians, do not really believe in God and others who have renounced any belief in a divine being. there are spread allover the world many who feel a connection to their Jewish identity even when not believing in the Elohim Hashem Jehovah God.

But we should also be aware that among Jews there are also quite a few who believe in the One and Only True God of Israel and who do not approve of all that is happening in present-day Israel.

Several Jews and Jeshuaists are therefore trying to spend their days outside Israel for the Most High and to express their faith in a dignified way, even if it is not always according to people’s expectations. But they realise that impression to their God is more important than impression to people.

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To remember

  • “Assimilated Jew” in the title of this series because “Authentic Self and the Assimilated Jew” had a nice aesthetically-pleasing alliteration to it.
  • assimilated = giving up part of your identity/culture/observance to become part of an outside majority community.
  • Judaism significant impact on life
  • imperfect/non-observance of commandment =/= reflection of a belief that G-d does not exist
  • price of keeping keeping commandments = more than willing to pay at present
  • lot of life choices based on Jewish observance => no secular Jew
  • connect to Jewish cultural tradition as much as one might think

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Preceding

Who is a Jew?

Jew refering to be religious or to be a people

This fighting world, Zionism and Israel #1

This fighting world, Zionism and Israel #5

 

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Additional reading

  1. 2015-2016 Religion
  2. A Quarter of Europeans are Still Antisemites
  3. Anti-Semitic pressure driving Jews out of Europe
  4. A Gentile and the Mosaic Law
  5. Hatikvah – the official anthem of Israel
  6. As there is a lot of division in Christendom there is too in Judaism
  7. Judaism and Jeshuaism a religion of the future
  8. A celebration of harvest, and of thanksgiving for the provision God has given
  9. What Jeshuaists believe
  10. Policy Statement of the Jeshuaist community
  11. Noahide Laws or Seven commandments incumbent upon all of humankind
  12. Jewish People Inventors of Hope
  13. Does God really care?
  14. Vital importance of reading and following the Kitvei Hakodesh
  15. Changes in the Remnant of Jewish Believers
  16. Also Goyim or Non-Jews in the Jeshuaist movement
  17. A misunderstanding about Messianic Judaism
  18. Difference between Messianic Judaism, Jeshuaism, Christianity and Christendom
  19. Jeshuaists, Messianic Jews, Messianics and Christians
  20. Who or What is a Jeshuaist
  21. Focus On Your Unique Path

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Related

  1. The Jewish Experience by Gilad Altzon
  2. What Kind of Jew are You?
  3. “But Judaism is a Religion!”
  4. Jewish Oppression and Crimes Against Humanity
  5. Anti-Semitism: Jewish mythology and lies
  6. Reality Check: Jewish Oppression and Crimes Against Humanity
  7. Semitic Semantics
  8. Gene Wilder (1933-2016) feeling Jewish
  9. A Reflection for Purim
  10. Bible Stories for Atheist Babysitters

Jewish Young Professional

I put “Assimilated Jew” in the title of this series because “Authentic Self and the Assimilated Jew” had a nice aesthetically-pleasing alliteration to it. But honestly, I don’t self-identify as a secular Jew or as an assimilated Jew.

Secular?

I don’t consider myself secular because in spite of my imperfect or non-observance of commandments, Judaism still has a significant impact on my life. I believe in G-d. My imperfect/non-observance of commandment is not a reflection of a belief that G-d does not exist. I think G-d exists, and while I do not know what I believe with respect to divine reward and punishment, I believe G-d prefers that I keep the commandments. The reason I don’t keep commandments is because the price of keeping them is more than I am willing to pay at present, come what may.

It’s not that I don’t believe in Torah or mitzvot (commandments). It’s…

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Torah reading, synagogue
Jeshuaists, Jews, Le'bnsshpil = lifestyle - way of life, Life matters, Religiosity + Way of Expressing Faith

Not always so easy to keep to the sabbath

We always should remember that Shabbat is not just about not doing certain things, or the other way round, just doing special things, or having special food or bringing sacrifices.

Education & Advice, Jeshuaists, Jews, Le'bnsshpil = lifestyle - way of life, Life matters, Prayers, Religiosity + Way of Expressing Faith

Difficulty in getting new young members

As a small faith community, getting new young members is not easy. We all must do an effort to bring in the younger generation and to get them enthusiastically to share their knowledge and gifts with the older generations.

Jeshuaists, Jews, Le'bnsshpil = lifestyle - way of life, Re-blogs and Thoughts of others, Reflection text, Religiosity + Way of Expressing Faith

Fish vs. Pond Size – Jewish Community Edition

For a community that is already small in normal times, there has been a time of more loneliness during the lockdown periods due to the impact of the Coronavirus.
In some countries, things are allowed to return to normal, while in others, such as Belgium, we are still very cautious and foresee Zoom meetings.

We can imagine that in several countries the communities are still a shadow of what they once were. Getting all the congregants turning up again will also not be so simple, because often people have to travel some kilometres to come to service, and as such shall lose again some time by travelling to and fro.

For many, it will be a matter of readjustment and of having healthy fresh water in the fishbowl again. For many, it is also not so evident to get back in form and in confidence to share some tasks. Some prefer to stay in the shadow, whilst others would not mind being lions leading the troup.

We may question how far we as a community want to feel the collective experience. For months, many of us became accustomed to the private enclosure, and prayer time on our own at home.
Now going to yeshivah demands again some effort people have to bring up after work or daily duties.

After the Covid pandemic, we need retaining walls to carry out our daily work and bring life back to the brewery. For this, big fish are welcome to pull the procession of little fish along in an adventure of reading and study, but also of reflection and argumentation.

Now it may well be that people have come to a point where they want to look further afield and go to places where the sea is deeper but where the fauna is also wider and more abundant.

Do not mind exploring other Jewish communities, even when they may be much further or even out of state.
Who would not love to look for a Jewish or a Jeshuaist community that not only is vibrant and fully egalitarian, but also a Jewish community that is still a moderate-big pond post-pandemic with an existing coral infrastructure?

Those who are able to such larger communities are the lucky ones.

I want to be a smaller fish in this pond. I’d like to grow into a big star Torah-reading fish again. And I’m willing to take on some of those thankless coral jobs for the right community. But mostly, I really just want to feel like a fish again.

But do not be discouraged by the lack of large communities. We must be fully aware that, as Children of God, we will only be part of small communities. It is up to us to bring life into our very small communities. Each of us must bring new oxygen and even though the Covid period is not yet over, we must bring back the taste for more. Sometimes we have to do the digging ourselves to make the pond bigger.

Now is the time to bring out the picks and shovels and build a stage on which we can sing and dance together.

Jewish Young Professional

I thought I’d offer a somewhat different take on Fandango’s Provocative Question, as it got me thinking about my preferences and priorities for the Jewish community I want to be a part of, and how they have changed.

I’ve written before about my love for the singing, dancing, energy and celebration of “Big Party Judaism“. I guess this would be a small fish in a big pond model. Even aside from the fun social aspect, I enjoy the spiritual energy of Judaism in a large group of people.

Party time! Photo byQuang Nguyen VinhfromPexels

That said, when it comes to having a congregational home, I found myself more at home in the big fish in a small pond model. I gravitated towards communities where I’d play a bigger more active role, say, as a regular Torah/Haftarah reader, vs. a more passive one…

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