One of my girls got upset at me and asked why I am always "bashing" only Jews.
Sometimes I am at a loss for words when my kids confront me with something, but not this time. I was sad that she saw it as bashing, but it was very simple to me.
It matters.
I don't care what non-Jews do, as far as it does not effect the society I live in. But when fellow memebrs of my tribe act in a way that does not make them a "light unto the nations," I care.
My very smart sister made the observation that too many people who share our path, do not act in the appropriate manner because they make a simple mistake. They think they are better then everyone. In reality, she contends:
"You are not born better, you're born chosen, you need to make yourself better."
3 comments:
When fellow jews don't keep shabbos, they're not being the definition of a light unto the nations. Do you bash those jews?
This seems to be a theme for you, that if one is not offended by Jews with little or no connection to Torah, then they should not be offended by those who claim to use the Torah to gide their lives. But really the unaffiliated, unobservant-reform or conservative Jews are not on display for the world. Being a Torah true Jew means having a higher standard, precisely because one is saying that he follows the dictates of G-d as oppsed to the whims of man. If one, through his dress and some actions is saying "this is what God wants" then others will judge all his actions as being what the Torah prescribes. So as far as being a light unto the nations, the Jews who are not keeping Shabbos may not be a light unto the nations, but they are not CLAIMING to be.
I think your arguments in this vein are disingenuous, and just a way to excuse bad behavior from those you deem "frummer."
There's a lot in what you said. My original point was that if you're using something as an argument, if it doesn't hold consistently it might not be the actual reason for your actions. Is your issue a form of zealotry for Gd? If so, it's severely skewed toward only one manifestation of corruption of Gd's word.
Anytime a jew is visible, he's on display. And they are visible. Jews look Jewish. They have Jewish last names. They are not hidden. Here's an interesting story related to recognizing jews whether they're displaying & living as jews or not: http://books.google.com/books?id=YjwTszlu7DsC&pg=PT405&lpg=PT405&dq=ben+hecht+%22he's+a+jew%22&source=bl&ots=F2HoB-k2Cv&sig=jJEgUcIb_vY0JDMnJ6_aKtdc7dg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IvR_UeyIBZi24APK34HABQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg
I don't think many of the people you bash think much about how they're presenting themselves. I understand this is part of your point, but to say that they're making a claim is not correct. They're not claiming anything except within their own world where they believe they're doing what they think is right. They may do some stuff wrong, but many of us do - even though many of us think we're living right & righter than others.
I don't have much of an opinion on people who are "frummer" (I keep the quotes in because I use it the same way you do, as just a label), or on people who are not. It's just that Jews are jews, and they all have the same obligations. They are truly one people, and should be viewed as such.
If I'm offended because someone thinks they're better than me, or because they refuse to openly embrace the dominant culture the way I do, or because I don't want to be lumped with them because I don't like the way they look, or for any other reason, I just want to understand fully why I'm feeling what I'm feeling. I can see why people may see actions of the bashees as a distortion and hypocrisy but I struggle with why it feels so much stronger than other distortion and dishonesty that I see, and whether my discomfort actually has anything to do with Gd.
Using jewish weights of obligations, what they do is not less of a corruption than not keeping the big 3.
Post a Comment