Current situation in
Israel regarding the secular Israeli experience of traditional
Judaism
The past decade has seen a substantial output of academic
research and popular writings describing the secular Israeli's
experience of traditional Judaism.
Among the best are:
Israeli Jews - Portrait: Beliefs, The religious Traditions &
Values of Jews in Israel 2000.
An in-depth study by the Gutman
Center conducted for the Avi Chai Foundation.
Unity & Diversity Among Jews in Israel.
Research
conducted by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute in Conjunction
with the UJA Federation of New York .
Some Indices of Tolerance in Israeli Society.
The findings of a public-opinion survey conducted by the Dahaf institute, Mina
Tzemach - Director.
While these works include documentation and commentary that run
to many chapters, several major trends clearly emerge:
A. Judaism has become a bureaucratic, rather than a
community, experience.
For the unaffiliated Jew in Israel, Judaism has become reduced
to a series of obligatory passages which leave the individual
with little choice and less feeling.
Whether the event is decreed by family tradition -- such as a
circumcision or bar mitzvah -- or by legal mandate -- such as a
wedding or divorce -- the Jewish element
is accepted as a necessary element in proceeding to the next
step. It is rarely, if ever, regarded as a beautiful and
integral part of the total experience. Such passages move along
bureaucratic channels that are often devoid of feeling, with
ill-concealed intolerance, which induce further resentment and
alienation from religion.
A case in point is Israel's requirement that all weddings occur
in the Orthodox Jewish tradition. Such an event, with all its
connotations of "new beginnings,"
has a great potential for the bride and groom to become exposed
to the beauties of Judaism. Unfortunately, for the overwhelming
majority of secular Jews,
this lifecycle event turns out to be an exposure that is neutral
(in the best case) or negative (in the more usual case) to
traditional Orthodox Judaism. Beginning with the bride's
sessions with a "bridal teacher" who is often elderly, out of
touch with secular notions,intolerant,distrustful and
condescending, continuing on to a visit by the couple to a rabbi
they have never met before and will meet only once again at
their wedding ceremony, the marriage process is devoid of
spiritual meaning. It is an empty exercise that at best fulfills
the traditional aspirations of the older generations present at
the event.
B. Judaism has come to be viewed in black and white rather
than as a richly colored, growing experience.
The polarization of Israeli society effectively compels
individual to assume the label of a religious or secular Jew.
Like other situations in which the stakes are an all-or-nothing
proposition, this set of pressures is reductive,
unhealthy and forbidding. It creates an environment where the
path toward the possibility of self-growth is cut off by
artificial boundaries and fences.
In this environment, each group stands on opposite sides of the
fence with signs and slogans depicting the legitimacy of their
side, while deriding the notions of what lies on the other side.
The process of self-labeling deprives the individual of a true,
chosen identity that
is not defined by the other. It also raises fences between sects
to the extent of extreme, growing intolerance.
C. Judaism has come to induce in secular Jews a fear and
dislike of religious individuals
in general, and rabbis in particular.
The animosity between Israel's secular and religious
societies has led to the stereotyping of those adhering to
traditional values. Reinforced by the lack of contact between
individuals from both worlds, this attitude becomes increasingly
hardened over time, making future contact increasingly unlikely.
The secular culture views the rabbinate, and in extension the
individual rabbi, as coercive, intolerant, prejudiced and
archaic. Rather than being sought for advice or learning, rabbis
are actively avoided.
D. Judaism and its rabbis are viewed as focusing more on the
relationship between man and
God than on relationship between individuals.
The natural role that a rabbi takes in the Diaspora, as a
counselor of families and an advisor on other interpersonal
relationships is nonexistent in the State of Israel. The focus
of the rabbi is, instead, largely on advancing the religious
stature of his followers. In the secular community where
religion does not feature in a persons life, the role of the rabbi
is nonexistent. Therefore, the typical secular Jew does not see
what possible advantage can be gained by having contact with a
rabbi. Certainly he or she would not see a role for a rabbi in
meeting his own family needs. Judaism that emphasizes only religious
obligations and does not present solutions to family, marital
and parenting problems is irrelevant to the average secular Jew.
Similarly, a rabbi who is not focused on social and family
issues, is irrelevant to the average secular Jewish family.
E. Judaism is coerced, not chosen.
Most of the population would relate to a level of Judaism that
the individual chose on his or her own. It is clear that the
average Israeli wants to adopt Jewish Values as part of his or
her Jewish identity but stands on guard when forced to do so.
Judaism is largely viewed today as being a State law rather than
a choice one makes in life. Matters such as working or not
working on Shabbat, eating kosher or not, practices in marriage
and divorce, among many other topics, are seen as dictates from
the State. They are seldom viewed as a Jewish way of living that
can be embraced. There is substantial evidence that suggests a
great many Israelis would accept, even embrace, an approach
consistent with tradition if it is presented in a manner that is
empathic, personalized and non- bureaucratic.
F. Love is dependent on observance rather than being
unconditional.
While the notion of unconditional love toward other Jewish
sounds trivial, it is profoundly important in Israel, where that
notion is foreign to religion. In Israel, love toward other Jews
is practiced only as a preaching device or as a tactic in
securing something in return. There is no true feeling for every
Jew as a Jew. There is no true feeling for the Jew who goes to
synagogue only once a year, who does not obey mitzvoth, who does
not dress modestly, who does not keep kosher, who does not
observe Shabbat.
At the heart of the philosophy of Kehilot is love for the individual
as a Jew - not for what he should be but for what he is - a Jew.
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