Day 7 of Judaism - Ritual, Relationship and Reason

Ritual
Ritual is obviously very important to the Jewish Religion. Thinking of Judaism for me brings to mind a people set apart by tradition and ritual:

• The bris, circumcizing their sons and a celebration on the child's 8th day of life
• The bar-mitzvah and bah-mitzvah, coming-of-age parties for children turning 13.
• Pesach, or Passover - the acknowledgment of God's hand in liberation from Egypt.
• Shabbat, time set apart every single week to worship God

Hundreds of other little (and big) things are unique to the Jewish tradition... sacrificial rituals, the Ten Commandments, the Ark of the Covenant, Chanukah (Hanakkuh), dreidels and matzah balls, Mezuzahs, tefillin, the songs, reading the Torah in Hebrew...

All of these things make the Jewish people unique, and the fact that Judaism has survived for 4000 years WITHOUT A COUNTRY make the Jewish traditions remarkable. What other civilization's people and traditions, and even LANGUAGE survived for so long without a country to call their home? Do we see practicing Babylonians walking the streets of New York? Even the Native American traditions have in many cases withered away and disappeared with the passing of time, although there are still some traditions practiced: but it has only been a few hundred years since they were assimilated into "American" (European/Christian) culture.

It is a source of amazement for me, and begs an explanation... tempting even the most skeptical mind to wonder if indeed the Jews really ARE the chosen people of God... how ELSE can you explain their survival at all, much less the survival of their customs?

Relationship

Yes, the Jewish people are very into ritual, and quite possibly the ritual is the reason for its survival over so many millennia. But the prophets took issue time and again in the Jewish Bible with the people's devotion to tradition verses relationship. Ritual took a front seat over relating with God on a personal level, and that was condemned by many leaders mentioned in the Old Testament:

For example, when the Israelites went from the desert into the Promised Land, they built an altar and offered sacrifices - but not for the sake of the ritual. It says in Joshua 22:

That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD.’  ²⁸ “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

A testament to the fact that the sacrifice was not about the SACRIFICE, per se, but about the covenant and the relationship - between God and his people. King David latched onto this truth and speaks about it in the Psalms as well:

 ⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
   but my ears you have opened^[c]—
   burnt offerings and sin offerings^[d] you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
   it is written about me in the scroll.^[e]
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
   your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40)

and again in Psalm 50:

⁷ “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
   I will testify against you, Israel:
   I am God, your God.
⁸ I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
   or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
⁹ I have no need of a bull from your stall
   or of goats from your pens,
¹⁰ for every animal of the forest is mine,
   and the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know every bird in the mountains,
   and the insects in the fields are mine.
¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you,
   for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
   or drink the blood of goats?

 ¹⁴ “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
   fulfill your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call on me in the day of trouble;
   I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” (Psalm 50)

And the prophets speak of the insufficiency of simple ritual as well, like Jeremiah:

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! ²² For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, ²³ but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you." (Jeremiah 7).

The Talmud speaks to ritual also, emphasizing the importance of RELATIONSHIP over ritual:

When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he will be asked is not 'have you believed in God' or 'have you prayed and observed the ritual?', but 'have you dealt honorably with your fellow man?'

One of the things I have observed in the religions I have studied is that the majority of people within religious groups observe the tradition of their group, and in many cases, favor the religious practice over the relationship with God. Conversly, what draws people to the religion, and what forms the religion to begin with usually, is almost always based upon an experience with God or the Divine - a relationship, a revelation. Christianity - Jesus had a relationship with God that was different than his culture, and deeply intimate. The Apostle Paul had a vision. Abraham had an experience with a burning bush that changed his life, actually speaking with the Divine, and starting the nation of God's chosen people. Muhammad was visited by an angel who threatened to squeeze the life out of him until he experienced Allah's words. Jacob wrestled with an angel (or God) who changed his name to Israel and became the namesake of the nation. It is by revelation and relationship that people's lives are time and again changed, but it is always to ritual that they return.

& Reason

One ritual that I find fascinating within Judaism is arguing, debating, the written words and their meanings in the Torah. In Isaiah 1:18, God even appears to enjoy the process of debate: "'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD."  --Let us talk about this, and what our relationship really means. Lets talk about the sacrifices and the laws and the redemption.--

It is through this debate and study that the Jewish people not only build community, but build understanding. They are not only allowed to question the laws, commandments and stories within their Bible, they are encouraged to question! There is almost a sense that if you accept the teachings without questioning, you are not trying hard enough. This is in direct contrast to how I was raised, and how the Christian church, as a whole, operates; where questioning and doubting is considered tantamount to denial of Christ as Lord.

All this is not to say that ritual is unimportant or unnecessary. The emphasis on community as a way to relate to God reinforces and maintains the belief system itself. The various rituals on a daily or weekly basis serves as a a reminder of God in their lives. Indeed, had the ritualistic worship and laws of the Jewish people not been in place, it is doubtful that the religion would have even survived over the generations of dispersement throughout the globe. I just wonder if that is how God intended it to survive, or if he meant only to be close and have friendship and relationship with the humans on earth, and the humans to have relationship with one another.

The question Joel answered for us today is concerning some of that ritual. I wondered why the Jewish people follow some of the laws listed in the Torah, but not all of them.