Hello My Dear Fellow Classmates,
so today in class we were talking about open mindedness among orthodox(and conservative and reform) Jews. There were a lot of disagreements going on which is why i thought that this would be a great discussion topic. So since this is a Chumash class i will ask the following question: Can you think of anywhere in the Torah where the Jews were told that they were better than others, that they were the chosen people and that they needed to separate themselves? The answer is yes. and i am certain you can list numerous examples. I am not saying that this is wrong in any way. However, do you think that that might have caused Jews to become less open minded? Do you think that we subconciously create a barrier between ouselves and those who are "different?" and is so WHY?
I think there is a barrier, and it should be that way. Without walls that separate us from other people, we might be drawn to their easier ways of life. We would say, "i can be a good person morally, like these guys, and not follow torah laws. so I will not be religious anymore." We would rather this situation not happen, so when we interact with those outside of the Jewish faith, we try to separate ourselves a little. But this does not mean we cannot be friends with or friendly with nonJews on nonreligious Jews. This does not mean we act aloof or judge. Not at all. Now, some people might but they are being extreme, and this is certainly not an aspect of Judaism. It is just the way humans tend to be.
ReplyDeleteNow, in the Torah it does say that Jews are the chosen people and should separate themselves, but they aren't really better. Jews are held accountable for more laws that lead to a perfect world but that does not mean we are above nonJews. obviously you know that, but in the Torah I do not think it means that Jews are better. Like a President- the president isn't better than anyone else, but he has more responsibility. He cannot act the way we do, because he is held to higher expectations. But he is not truly better than me or you.
It is unfortunate that sometimes we feel that all Jews are judging people who are not as religious. Sometimes I feel that it happens. But it is not true that all religious Jews judge those who are not. Even if that is what the less religious feel, it is not the case. Things might be taken the wrong way, but I don't believe that orthodox are intentionally trying to hurt the nonJews.
Additionally, it is true that those who are less relgious judge those who are more than them. And it is also true that religious people are judgemental of those more religious then they are. I know for a fact that I think of chassidim and those guys as weird, and sometimes I judge them. So we have to ask: Why is it okay for us to judge them, but we get offended when others judge us for being less? Or we think it is okay for Chaya to make fun of chasidim, but we get mad if she does it about people who are conservative?
This is an excellent idea! I think there is a correlation between these two things, and I really dislike it. I think that one of the reasons why Jews were always oppressed is also because people do not like it if you are stuck up, and look down on others, and that is how the non Jews believed, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to Zahava's idea that there should be a barrier, I think there should be one to a certain extent. I do not believe that Jews should create their little Ghetto and exclude themselves from society since that is part of the challenge and the test of true belief.