Jewish Religious Tradition and Spirituality in a Naturalistic Perspective

Last updated on: October 3, 2021 at 5:31 pm by Spiritual Naturalist Society

Jewish Religious Tradition and Spirituality in a Naturalistic Perspective 2021-10-03T17:31:02-04:00 Spiritual Naturalist Society

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

by SNS Guest

(This article is written by guest writer Aron Gamman.)

Exploring Judaism through the lens of Spiritual Naturalism brings forth many possibilities. On the one side it challenges Jewish traditions by denying a supernatural agency. But in as much as Judaism has been less “otherworldly” than some of the other major religions, Naturalism and Judaism do have a common ground.

Treating Jewish theism as mythology, rather than taking it literally, challenges the heart of what it means to be Jewish to those who hold to a more static interpretation of the tradition. This same sort of attitude reflects the reaction that the Jewish community in Holland took towards Baruch Spinoza in an earlier time. His idea of God challenged the traditional view as it also challenged the idea of God held by the Christian churches of his day.

Spinoza began his life much like any other Jew of that period. His parents had moved to Holland from Portugal to escape religious persecution. But more radically than other Jews of the time, Baruch questioned tradition and consider other options. Whether or not he saw himself as a radical, it’s difficult to know, but it led to his being excommunicated. In a sense he became the first secular Jew. In an article in the Jewish Virtual Library, it states:

At first Spinoza was reviled as an atheist – and certainly, his God is not the conventional Judo-Christian God. The philosophers of the enlightenment ridiculed his methods – not without some grounds. The romantics, attracted by his identification of God with Nature, rescued him from oblivion.

It is a bit ironic that while Spinoza’s family had immigrated from Portugal to gain religious freedom, Baruch sought in his new country a different kind of religious freedom. He remains today one of the hero’s for those of us who think that the words “God” and “Nature” essentially refer to the same thing.

Today, we possess a freedom that many in the past did not have. This allows us to explore our Jewish identity, even those of us who can no longer accept its model of theism. We can acknowledge the well-known literature (or canon) of Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, Siddur; we can appreciate how they established norms as well as humanistic ideas and values in the past, but we do not have to give them undue authority or take them literally. We can still connect to the memory of our ancestors and their stories, but in a different, perhaps more authentic form to us and our communities; one that can be integrated with the world view revealed by modern science. We can accept the possibility of new stories and new interpretations arising in the present and furthering the tradition.

We do not think religious expressions necessarily fit secular interpretations of Jewish history and human experience. Yet we wish to speak for ourselves. We wish to experiment with many of the concepts presented on our own outside of religious guidelines. We do not necessarily need to be validated by traditional religious texts.

We approach a plurality of Jewish roots so we have the power to choose. We deny a single Jewish tradition, but accept many “Judaisms”. Many counter-establishment traditions have existed in the past and continue to exist. These have included both mystical and secular varieties. The presence of these traditions are written of in the Talmud and elsewhere, even if some were officially ignored once issues were “decided”. Underground and folk traditions are as rooted in Jewish tradition as much as official ideology.

A Spiritual Naturalist’s approach to Judaism can be seen as a new counter-establishment tradition. Who has the authority, now? It is us. Spinoza’s ideas preceed those of modern science, yet to some degree he inspired them. Currently he also serves as an inspiration for those of us who embrace the world view advanced by science, yet continue to value their Jewish identity and the rich, ages-old tradition in which that identity has developed. We can embrace the incredible picture of “the creation” that modern science is presenting to us, while maintaining our roots in the Jewish tradition.

Subscribe to The Spiritual Naturalist Society

Learn about Membership in the Spiritual Naturalist Society

__________
The Spiritual Naturalist Society works to spread awareness of spiritual naturalism as a way of life, develop its thought and practice, and help bring together like-minded practitioners in fellowship.

Uncategorized

Judaism

Traditions

Previous Post

October 3, 2021

Hakuin and the Accusation

Next Post

October 8, 2021 Hozho

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Spiritual Naturalism Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 August 2017 July 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 January 2015 December 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz