Recently I was very happy to attend the bris of a friend’s firstborn son. To see the dazed smile on the face of the new father and the joy of the grandparents and great-grandmother was very uplifting. The mother, of course, was very happy too, if a bit haggard.
In contrast to this affirmation of Judaism was the note I received from a friend telling me of the “non-traditional” bar mitzvah he was planning for his son. In essence, the boy will receive lessons in what it is to be a man — sort of a touchy-feely male bonding thing.
But that isn’t enough. My friend was raised in a traditional Jewish household. He attended Hebrew school and had a formal bar mitzvah just like the rest of his friends. He married a Jewish woman, but they have shown absolutely no interest in furthering their son’s religious upbringing.
Why are they making such a decision about their son’s religion, or lack thereof? I’m not sure.
They, like many others, find it easy to take being Jewish for granted, in an indifferent manner that eventually turns into a form of contempt. Judaism doesn’t deserve this; it has too much going for it. Judaism is needed as much in contemporary society as it was when it first pointed mankind away from paganism and human sacrifice.
Judaism is not just about eating bagels and lox for breakfast. It is not just about being a good person. With due respect to Rabbi Hillel, Judaism is more than just the Golden Rule.
Its message of a purposeful universe, rules of correct behavior and a positive role for the Jewish people is needed as much today as ever.
Whatever the actual length of Jewish history, it is clear there have been at least 200 generations and the covenant between God and the Jews has steadfastly been ratified by ritual circumcision and other traditions.
During this long history, the longest of any extant religion, Jews have suffered indignities — forced conversion, expulsion from their homeland and individual martyrdom, as well as the Holocaust. But today, many Jews are willing to slough off their religious heritage with little or no thought, denying the value of their birthright and denigrating the tribulations of their forebears.
The chain, hundreds of generations long, is being broken.
I thought about this recently when a small group of Israeli army veterans was kidnapped in an Asian country by Muslim radicals.
After finishing their mandatory military service, most young Israelis travel abroad for a year or so before continuing their education or settling down in a job.
The reason for the kidnapping was the Israelis’ Judaism. On being told they were being held for ransom, with the possibility of being killed because they were Jews, the Israelis were quick to tell their captors they were secular and didn’t even attend synagogue regularly.
The Muslims then offered them freedom if they would convert to Islam, since they seemed indifferent to their Jewish religion. Without exception, the army veterans refused. They found an opportunity to take the offensive against the terrorists and escaped, although one was killed.
Those Jews did not break the chain of their tradition, under pain of death, when others not only deny their traditional upbringing, but also make it hard for members of the next generation to even know they are Jewish. The Israelis chose to be proactive, to take the initiative to defend the traditions and beliefs of their parents and grandparents, even if they were not observant in an Orthodox manner.
To show respect for traditions that others have died for is the least one should do to extend the covenant between Abraham and God to the next generation of Jews. Let your sons and daughters decide for themselves, from an educated standpoint, what to do with their religious birthright.