"Bubbe meises" is Yiddish for old wives' tales, but they typically contain a kernel of truth. Rabbi Isaacs provides clarification on such topics as basic Jewish beliefs, ethics, observances, expressions, and opinions about Jews. For example, he debunks the common misconceptions that King David wrote all of the psalms in the Book of Psalms and that Jews are smarter than other people who place a high value on education. Not referenced. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
BUBBE MEISES
Jewish Myths, Jewish RealitiesBy Ronald H. IsaacsKTAV PUBLISHING HOUSE, INC.
Copyright © 2008 Ronald H. Isaacs
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-60280-032-8Contents
Introduction.....................................................xiiiChapter One BASIC JEWISH BELIEFSChapter Two ETHICSChapter Three HEBREW AND JEWISH EXPRESSIONSChapter Four JEWISH HOLIDAYSChapter Five DEATH AND DYINGChapter Six RITUAL OBJECTS AND OBSERVANCESChapter Seven JEWISH SUPERSTITIONSChapter 8 SEXChapter 9 OPINIONS ABOUT JEWSChapter 10 ISRAELChapter 11 MEDICAL ETHICSChapter 12 PRAYERChapter 13 BIBLE
Chapter One
1. Judaism has no established creed for all Jews to follow
A dogma is usually defined as a doctrine of belief that has the support of a central authority such as the hierarchy of a church. It is generally agreed that the Hebrew Bible does not contain dogmas, nor does the Talmud (the rabbinic interpretation of the Bible) dwell on formulating them. Although most of us would like to be able to state what we believe, as well as to articulate the basic principles of Judaism in a few sentences, especially if we are asked questions about our religious beliefs and the Jewish tradition by others, it simply isn't that easy. Statements about Judaism for Jews to memorize and then repeat word for word to others would rob us of the opportunity to struggle with Jewish belief and arrive at a decision about personal faith on our own. Churches, however, do have dogmas for their adherents to follow. In Roman Catholicism, belief in the Trinity is an accepted dogma.
The Jewish people have never had a central authority that issued dogmas to which all Jews were required to adhere. Over the centuries Jewish scholars have asserted that Judaism contains no single creed, thus differentiating it from Christianity. The German philosopher Moses Mendelssohn posited that Judaism was primarily a rational religion, and that reason and dogma were incompatible. Judaism, he asserted, would never require Jews to accept a doctrine merely on faith, especially if such a doctrine was irrational.
Solomon Schechter, the Jewish Theological Seminary's first president, was the first to challenge Mendelssohn's view, in his essay "The Dogmas of Judaism." Although Schechter agreed that Judaism has no single authority that proclaims Jewish dogma for all to follow, he contended that Judaism does contain doctrines of faith and guiding principles by which Jews are expected to lead their lives.
In the Mishnah Sanhedrin we find the beginning of a creed for Jews to follow: "These are excluded from the world-to-come: one who says there is no resurrection after death, one who denies that the Torah is divine, and the epikoros," often understood as one who denies belief in reward and punishment or who treats Scripture in a non-serious manner.
During the Middle Ages, when Judaism was being challenged by Greek philosophy, Islam, and Christianity, more serious attempts were made to establish a creed of dogma for all Jews to follow. The best-known of them was Moses Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Faith, found in his commentary to the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:1). His creed included the principles of belief in the existence of an incorporeal and eternal God, belief in prophecy, belief that the Torah can never be changed, and belief in the coming of the Messiah. Maimonides went so far as to assert that Jews could not attain immortality if they did not adhere to certain specific beliefs. And he said that unbelievers were to be excluded from the Jewish community.
Maimonides' Thirteen Principles were accepted by many Jews and eventually made their way, with some variations, into many traditional prayerbooks. Each article of faith was introduced by the Hebrew words ani ma'amin ("I believe"), with the intention of formalizing the creed. This was one of Judaism's first attempts to introduce dogmas in order to stimulate correct and consistent belief. Although Maimonides was widely accepted, some rabbinic authorities opposed his principles, while still others chose different principles.
Since there is no central rabbinic authority that speaks for Jews throughout the entire world, it would be difficult to demand a single set of dogmas for all to follow. Interestingly though, the liturgical poem known as Yigdal, often used as a closing hymn in the Friday evening Shabbat service and in some synagogue settings as an opening hymn, consists of thirteen lines which summarize the thirteen principles of faith as formulated by Maimonides.
For many Jews, Judaism is not merely a religion of beliefs. It is very much a religion of action. Some will even say that what one does is more important than what one believes. As the popular saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words."
2. There is no such thing as a Jewish saint
The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, which means "holy." In the Catholic and Orthodox churches, a saint is someone who has been formally canonized as a holy person known for the ability to perform miracles. Saints are able to act as intermediaries between God and people praying to God.
In the Hebrew Bible the root zdk, generally translated as "righteousness," occurs more than five hundred times. In the writings of the prophets, righteousness is synonymous with ethical conduct, but not with sainthood in the Christian sense. Although there is no official doctrine in Judaism that would elevate a person to sainthood, there has always been interest in those who have exceptional virtue and faith. Such people are often called tzaddikim-people of extreme righteousness. The ancient rabbis often called them hasidim -people of exceptional piety, goodness, kindness, and godliness-and some modern scholars translate this term as "saints," although others prefer "pietists." The ancient rabbis discussed the special virtues of the hasid, and especially noted that such individuals go well beyond the mere observance of the law. Thus for example, they would prepare for congregational prayer by meditating and concentrating, and would continue to pray long after other worshipers left the congregation to go home.
In medieval Germany, a special type of pietism existed whose saintly followers were known as the Hasidei Ashkenaz, the Pious Ones of Germany. Their ideas and practices are described in the famous book Sefer Hasidim, written for the most part by Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid (Judah the Pious), who died in 1217. Although written centuries ago, his observations on the world are strikingly relevant to the contemporary scene. The work addresses subjects ranging from love of God to how to deal with anger, and scattered throughout the volume are examples of actual life experiences to illustrate profound moral lessons.
In the twentieth century the great Bible professor Louis Ginzberg wrote a book entitled Students, Scholars and Saints. In the book he defines saintliness as "only another word for heroism in the domain of ethics and religion." He dedicates a chapter to Rabbi Israel Salanter, the nineteenth-century rabbi and moralist who best personifies the ideal of the Jewish saint and founded the musar movement for the study of ethics. Salanter was the kind of man who would always seek to act kindly to his fellow human beings, even those who might have wronged him.
In the modern Hasidic movement, which came into being during the eighteenth century, the tzaddik is looked upon by his students as the living incarnation of the Torah. The various Hasidic groups have developed different characteristics in accordance with the particular type of righteous person to whom they look for guidance. The Hebrew word tzaddik literally means a "righteous person," but when people use the term today as in "He's a real tzaddik"-they usually mean "saint."
Today it is perhaps easiest to understand what a tzaddik signifies in Jewish life by examining the life of Rabbi Aryeh Levine, one of the great Jewish saints of the past century. In the book A Tzaddik in Our Time, author Simcha Raz records recollections about Rabbi Levine, known primarily for his goodness. His main concern was to assist people, never to judge them. Rabbi Levine's desire to do good was so dominant a passion that he considered it a favor when people allowed him to help them.
An old Jewish tradition, dating back to talmudic times, records that the world is sustained by the presence of at least thirty-six tzaddikim (Sanhedrin 97b, Sukkah 45b). These people do their good deeds quietly, and their neighbors do not know who they are. If, however, that minimum of saintly people does not exist, then the world itself will perish. In Hebrew, the number thirty-six is formed by combining two letters, lamed (thirty). and vav (six). Even today, one might hear a truly devout, pious, and kind person described as "a real lamed-vavnik."
3. The-Jews are God's favorite people
The belief that Jews are the chosen people has undoubtedly provoked antagonism from non-Jews. In the 1930s as the Nazis were beginning their mass destruction of Jews, the writer George Bernard Shaw remarked that if the Nazis would only realize how Jewish their notion of Aryan superiority was, they would drop it at a heart beat. After the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Yakov Malik, the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations, remarked that the Zionist theory of the chosen people was tantamount to religious racism. The most antisemitic document in all of world history, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, is based on the idea of an international conspiracy to rule the world by the "chosen people."
In light of these attacks, some Jewish theologians and thinkers wanted to abolish the notion of the Jews as the chosen ones. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of the Reconstructionist movement, advocated dropping the chosen theme, not only because it was the model for racist ideology but also because it went against modern thinking to envision the Jews as divinely chosen by God.
It is a myth to think that the Jewish people have been singled out for special favors. Far from it. Chosenness means being selected to carry out the special duties of being God's servant. According to a story in the Book of Exodus, God chose Israel to be a special people when God led them out of Egypt and gave them the Torah on Mount Sinai. God said, "You will be my own treasure from all peoples" (Exodus 19:5). The prophet Isaiah expanded upon the idea of the Jews as chosen by saying: "I have given you as a covenant to the people. For a light unto the nations, to open the eyes of the blind" (Isaiah 42:6-7). This verse is extremely significant. It means that according to Isaiah, the Jewish people were assigned the special mission of improving the world and teaching other peoples to see the light. So Jews must understand that being chosen is not a privilege about which to boast, but rather a responsibility and a task to be undertaken. The Torah never tells us why Jews were chosen, or why Abraham and his descendants were selected for the task of making God known to the world. What God does say is that "it is not because you are numerous that God chose you, indeed you are the smallest people" (Deuteronomy 7:7).
The chosen people idea is such a powerful one that other religious groups have adopted it. Both Protestantism and Catholicism believe that God chose the Jews, but that two thousand years ago a new covenant was made with Christianity. Evangelical Christians often understand chosenness to mean that only Christians go to heaven, while the non-chosen are either damned or placed in limbo.
The Jewish prayerbook reaffirms the idea of chosenness and belief in a special relationship that Israel has with God with these words: "You have chosen us among all the nations; you have loved us and favored us." The same principle of Israel's chosenness is expressed in the words of the blessing one recites when called to the Torah. Jews ought to always be mindful when reciting these words that to be chosen from all the peoples implies added responsibility and obligation, but never thinking of themselves as having the intention to confer feelings of superiority over others. All individuals and groups may enjoy a loving relationship with God, if they choose to.
4. You can't be Jewish if you doubt God's existence
Questioners often ask whether one can be Jewish and doubt the existence of God. God has an opinion regarding this question. According to the Jerusalem Talmud (Hagigah 1:7), God says, "Better that the children of Israel abandon Me but follow My laws." Thus, according to the rabbis, one can be a good Jew while doubting the existence of God. One should incorporate Judaism's ideals into daily living by studying and practicing Judaism even when one has doubts about God's existence, because Jewish practice and study have spiritual and moral benefits in and of themselves.
The basic Jewish view on this question and one that my own experience has confirmed is that once a person begins to study and live Judaism, he or she will more readily come to the conclusion that God is the ultimate source of morality and life. The Talmud put it this way: "Whereas one may begin to practice Judaism for non-divine reasons, one eventually will become convinced that it represents God's will" (Pesachim 50).
I am reminded of a student I once taught in our confirmation class who very much doubted God's existence. He had trouble praying and did not even want to sign his confirmation certificate, which talked about his affirming his faith in God and the Jewish people. Years later and now a grown man, I met up with this student again when he came back from Texas to visit his family. Curious to know about his life and whether Judaism played any role in it, I proceeded to ask him whether he belonged to a synagogue. He answered, "I love my synagogue. I enjoy working with my kids on their Hebrew school homework, and by the way, I am the president of my shul. And yes, my God beliefs have changed as well!"
5. Jews literally believe in "an eye for an eye"
Few references in the Jewish Bible are as misused and misunderstood as the ancient Hebrew law of "an eye for an eye" (Exodus 21:24). This is often pointed to as an example of the harsh code of the Israelites. In actuality, however, it represents a great modification of the even harsher traditions practiced by the primitive peoples of the Near East before the Code of Moses. In ancient times, it was customary to treat the destruction of a vital member of the body as a capital offense. A person who caused the loss of another's eye was put to death. The Bible, in contrast, declared that a person must not suffer greater affliction than he caused, hence the law "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth." The operative biblical principle was that all punishments by necessity must be commensurate to the deed.
Throughout history the "eye for an eye" ethic has often been used and cited to prove the existence of an "Old Testament" ethic of vengefulness, to be contrasted with the New Testament's supposedly higher ethic of forgiveness and mercy. An "eye for an eye" is often associated with modern Jews as well, and invariably in a pejorative manner. The Israeli army, for example, is often chastised in the press for its "eye for an eye" type of morality when it retaliates against a terrorist attack.
As biblical tribal life gave way to organized community living, the Jews of ancient Palestine decided that this principle was far too severe. The Talmud then reinterpreted the law of "an eye for an eye" to mean "the cost of an eye for the cost of an eye." The law was thus understood as requiring monetary compensation equivalent to the value of an eye. The same understanding was applied to almost all of the other punishments stated in the same biblical verse, "a tooth for a tooth, a wound for a wound." The guilty person had to pay indemnity for the loss of a limb, much as one does today in accident cases. Any harsher punishments were strictly forbidden. There are many who believe that this is the interpretation originally intended for the biblical phrase "an eye for an eye."
6. Jews-literally believe in Satan
There are a number of references to Satan in the Hebrew Bible. In biblical Hebrew, the term satan signifies "adversary." It is derived from a verb meaning to oppose and resist. But except for the brief period just before the Christian era, it is doubtful that Jews ever took these references literally. In the course of time, satan came to mean pre-eminently the Adversary, the incarnation of all evil, whose thoughts and activities are devoted to the destruction of people. At times satan was also identified with temptation, the evil impulse which prompts people to heed the worst side of their nature. But even this notion was never too deep-rooted. For Judaism teaches that God is the Creator of both good and evil, and that God's dominion alone is real.
In the Book of Job, the character of Satan is very real. Satan is portrayed as an adversary who begrudges man's contentment and well-being, and he is the indirect cause of Job's misery.
But the rabbinic sages debated whether the Book of Job was fact or fiction. A number of the most distinguished rabbis contended that the entire Book of Job was actually a product of some ancestor's imagination-a parable or allegory similar to others found in the Bible.
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Excerpted from BUBBE MEISESby Ronald H. Isaacs Copyright © 2008 by Ronald H. Isaacs. Excerpted by permission.
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