Anonymous wrote:I'm a member of Ohev Sholom (Orthodox) in DC. On the second night (after the first day), the Rabbi's daughter got up during dinner. With dozens and dozens of pairs of eyes on her...
She said that the portion for the second day (when Abraham takes his son Isaac to sacrifice him for Gd) made her very angry, upset, confused, and sad. Why would Gd do such a thing?
Those present responded that Abraham trusted Gd that he was going to change his mind, or that he never was going to go through with it. But, that didn't satisfy her.
She thinks Gd was testing Abraham -- but not testing his faithfulness or loyalty to Gd. He was testing his ability to follow his moral compass -- to do the right thing -- to stand up for what he believed. If she is right (and as the Rabbi's daughter, she definitely isn't wrong), that means that Abraham didn't pass the test; he failed it. That could explain why Gd never speaks to Abraham again directly and only through his angels after that test -- Gd was disappointed.
How does that apply to this question? For many Jews today, our moral compass tells us that the bris is not an innocent rite of passage, but the male equivalent of female circumcision -- in other words, immoral & unethical infant genital mutilation. The Jewish Gd never asked for unwavering obedience. The Jewish Gd is asking us to find our moral compass, present it to Him and stand up -- not just to society, not just to our parent, not to just to tradition -- those would be easy in comparison. No, Gd is asking us to stand up to the Ultimate Parent, the Ultimate Judge, the Ultimate Everything, and say, "No, that is not okay, and I will not do it." Abraham failed Him, but let us not all fail Him.
I consider myself a very observant Jew. I am open orthodox. I follow, believe in, and admire Rabbi Herzfeld and everything he is doing for Judaism today (although I am obviously more open than him, and don't pretend to be speaking for him). The National Shul is more progressive than Kemp Mill "progressive" Jews and even more progressive than Modern Orthodox. But, nonetheless, I do belong to an orthodox shul. I do not believe that the bris milah applies to our culture anymore -- period. I will not fail the test that Abraham failed. Gd does not want me to hurt my child. He wants me to protect my child. He wants me to stand up to Him. I will not fail Gd. I will not fail my child. I will not fail my moral compass. That decision does not make me less of a Jew. I would argue that makes me more of one.
The bolded is absolutely part of the problem that OP has regarding Judaism. And I, as well, as a fully Jewish person, but less observant one. PP, you say you are more open minded than your Rabbi, but saying what I bolded does not make you so. You may be more observant within the way you view Judaism, and that is the wonderful thing about Judaism for a lot of people is that these ideas are open to interpretation. But saying that doing so makes you more of a Jew than others...well, you are perpetuating a problem that has caused splintering amongst Jewish people (remember, we are a PEOPLE). I hope that the bolded is not how you go through life.
|
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}