Post Rabbinic Post

OK, so you graduated college and you think you'll never be bothered by another boring lecture. But there I go and shatter your illusions. You may kick my post-erior later. My-bad (I can't believe I just wrote that). I wrote a clearly dry and academic post chock full of important historical facts presented in a manner that will rival your best insomniac-curing professor. He knows his stuff but No-Doz, Red Bull, and an IV caffeine drip can't help you focus. And still you complain?!? I long for the days of that foggy glazed-look daze.

When I write a post like that I really am taking notes for myself, summarizing the major points of concern so that one day I can look back and get the whole gestalt without the fluff. Now I'm tempted to summarize that post so that your ADHD minds can get the point and move on.

So here goes. Torah ain't what you think. It's not a unified work and it has undergone major evolutionary/revisional changes over time. Judaism of first temple monarchy had different theology and concerns than second temple priestly rule. And varying and competing schools of thought merged or were rejected in a long process that leads us to what we practice today- a Judaism guided by the 'wise' interpretation of our ruling Rabbis (not priest and certainly not king).

The point was that evolution of religion was based on who was in power. Power as much as theology has determined the direction of our religion. And the winners get to tell their story.

So what do we do with this knowledge? Should this change anything we do? Well that's up to you. Some will reject religion as propaganda and a means of population control while others will accept that we are part of a long chain of good people searching for, but not always finding, the perfect unquestionable truth. And in what direction do we wish to see our religion heading? We were to be a light unto nations so should we move away from our insular nature and aim for more universal ideals? In the end we each have to find the best balance for ourselves.

For all you seekers out there, "Pilgrim, in your journey you may travel far, for pilgrim it's a long way to find out who you are..."- Enya.

Now I'm quoting Enya, kill me now!

Curious Jew

Curious Jew had an interesting post about the underlying reason for opposing religious factions attempt to persuade others of their ‘truth’. CJ claims that it is out of love for others that the truth is perpetrated upon those uninterested in hearing. It’s a worthwhile post which should precede reading my comments below. BTW, most of her post are exceptionally well written, especially the literary ones. My response, which was comment number 29, is quoted here:

What you have so eloquently reimagined as love misdirected, is actually a by-product of evolution. Humans have depended upon cooperation and coalitions to survive. Coalitional dynamics require special group thinking. Pascal Boyer in Religion Explained points out that the way we view people is in terms of their associations with a broader, more general social category. John is from the Smythe Clan, Eddie is Asian and Tommy, black. From there we further note- John is from our clan/group while the others are not. There are things I expect to do for John and him for me without personal benefit but for the good of our group. His non-cooperation with our group expectation is akin to defection and would be punished or rebuked. Loyalty to the group is essential.

Eddie and Tommy are not from our group. No matter what these individuals do, we will extrapolate their actions to be characteristics of their group (regardless if true or not). Actions of these individuals would warrant response against their group as a whole. (Racism is starting to make sense, isn't it?).

So within the group we tend to enforce cooperation and compliance so we would expect our neighbor to keep us in line with the group philosophy. This would apply to why different sects of Jews try to enforce their thinking on other Jews. Simply put, we are all Jews and that requires commitment to the group. However there are also elements of out-group thinking. Inevitably when dealing with a large group, smaller subgroups will tend to form whose social dynamics also take on in-group/out-group thinking. Each group thinking that their group consists of finer characters than those of other groups. Each group would value their view of Judaism as more correct than another sub group of Jews. Then out-group dynamics come into play. For example if we hear of a hasid involved in an abominable act, the first thing we say is, "Those hasidim..." we extrapolate an individuals actions as representative of the whole. In that way, there are divisive forces at work.


People believe that others represent the world as they do. If they view an act as morally wrong, they just assume you do as well. (Moral Realism) This is where their attempt to re-educate you comes in because of course they know they are correct, you just need some prodding to realign you. People also have a vested interest in believing their truth to be absolute.

I did, however, enjoy the optimistic, hopeful message of your post. It shows the depth of your good nature and your eagerness to find the good in others or in outwardly negative experiences. If more people were like that or in the very least strove to be that way, the world would be unrecognizable to us today. Unfortunately, the representations you have of others are not necessarily the ones they hold for themselves. There are people with other agendas and other baser drives who don’t have as peaceful a view of the world and are willing kill for their beliefs. But don’t let me stop your enthusiasm and quest for a better world.

Finding the good in things is better than finding the truth.