WHY BE JEWISH?

My dearest Aaron Hershel,

 

Your last letter took me by surprise! But then I realized that maybe my liberal thinking on Jews who marry Gentiles sparked the question. I tried to think when I have been asked such a question before, and I think this may be the first time. “Why be Jewish?” For a moment I did not even understand what you were asking me. But as I read on I discovered the reason behind your question.

You know, I don’t think our Gentile neighbors ever ask us why we are Jews. Our Jewishness is a given; they either hate us, or tolerate us, or ignore us or treat us as equals. But has any one of them ever inquired about us? This would be a rare person indeed. But America is not Russia, is it? America is something unique. People are curious about each other. Perhaps because Americans are free to choose which religion to follow, they are curious about all of them and why one person makes one choice and another person makes a different choice.

Why be Jewish? It seems to me that there are two people who would ask this question. There is the Jew who is thinking about leaving Judaism, and there is the Gentile who is thinking about adopting it. My answer to both would be the same: Be a Jew because being a Jew is the best way for you to fulfill your potential as a human being created in the image of God. I imagine that they would then ask me: But how do I know what my potential as a human being is? And how do I know if being a Jew would help me achieve this potential?

No one knows what her potential is. No one knows how far he can go or how high she can reach. What seems to be your limit today proves to be but a stepping-stone tomorrow. Perhaps the only way to know what we can achieve in life is to look back from our deathbeds and see just what we did achieve. You could argue that this does not make sense: Could I not have made different choices in my life? Could I have not taken a different path and achieved more than I did?

To my mind, the answer is no. If you could have lived differently you would have lived differently. You lived the way you lived because that was all you could do. Comparing it to what you imagine you could have done is an unfair comparison. Why did I choose to be a rabbi? Could I have chosen otherwise? Do not imagine that at a certain age someone came to me and laid out all the possible things a person can be and said to me: Now choose. No one gave me such a clear choice, and no one decision brought me to the rabbinate. Rather, thousands of little decisions carried me here. I was drawn to study and not farming. I was captivated by the talmudic sages and not musicians. Why? Could I go back and back into my life and discover a straight line of cause and effect leading to this very moment?

What you would find is that each choice builds upon those that preceded it. No choice happens in a completely free space. I am a rabbi because after making thousands of little choices that seemed to have nothing to do with being a rabbi it became impossible for me to be anything else.

We are not free to be anyone we wish. We are free only to be who we are. And real freedom lies in knowing that, and in taking up your destiny as it reveals itself to you. So how do we know what our potential is? We do not know in advance. We only know what choice seems right to us at the moment. Then another choice appears and we must choose rightly once again; and then again and again and again until we discover a pattern to our choosing. This pattern is our destiny. At first we may create it. In the end it creates us.

If this is so, then how can anyone know if being or becoming a Jew is right for them? If they stand back and try to be objective, they will never know. The only way to know is to make a choice and see.

If a Gentile were to come to me and inquire about becoming a Jew, what would I say? I would say: “Live as a Jew for one year. Keep kashrut, make Shabbat, observe the Holy Days, study Torah. Then, at the end of a year, you will know for yourself if this is the choice you are to make.”

What would I say to a Jew who comes to see if she should remain a Jew? If she knows nothing about being a Jew, I would make the same suggestion as I make to a Gentile: try it and see. If she is a knowledgeable Jew, an observant Jew, then I would say this: find a path that works for you.

We have spoken months ago about the purpose of being human. Our task is to till the soil of self to let it breathe the life-giving air of the soul. We must talk about soul some day, but for now let me simply say that if Judaism does not till your soil you must find another way that does. God never commands us to be Jewish, God commands us to be holy (Leviticus 19:2). To be holy means to make the world holy. You can do this only if you are in touch with your deepest divine nature.

Why be Jewish? Because being Jewish is the most powerful way to break open the ego and experience God. If there is a better way for you to follow, then follow it.

I am to travel far from our village tomorrow. A dear friend is dying. I will stay until the death and through the shivah. Write when you can. I will answer when I return.

 

B’Shalom