Shalom, I am Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg of the Ezra-Habonim, Niles Township Jewish Congregation of Skokie. This video is going to try to explore the various of models of Jewish spirituality. There are many Jews that think that their kind of Judaism is the correct one. But actually, when you look at Judaism in the totality, spending 4000 years, you find that, in every generation, there has been different emphasis. Sometimes, in a particular generation that have been multiple emphasis, and then sometimes one generation, one spiritual model has been predominant.
So, when I just briefly outlined what they are and help understand the Jewish people today in the way in which they manifest themselves, and disperse themselves among these various models. You may find and explore your own spirituality, your old religious commitments, that one of these five; you gravitate towards more than the others. A key is a synagogue, is to try and propriety models, you can access in all these areas, and I hope you have a little bit of each one, that you will grow in all of them.
But, I understand, and I think we all understand that different Jews are going to have different focus, foci. In fact, we have an interesting custom in the fall when we carry a Lula of a natural ground. A date palm branch, and willow of myrtle branches and a citron fruit, and one of the classic we have been in stories about, it is that, this represent all the different kinds of Jews, and if you have to hold on together in order to do the blessing.
So, what are these models? One is, require religious or pietistic. In this, you will probably know Jews, and this is predominant among the Orthodox. For whom, one of the details of Jewish ritual, observe and say in proper prayers at the proper time, and observing the ritual commandments. For them that is the key to Judaism, and everything else is secondary. Now, I believe that you should live by the Jewish tradition and observe Jewish life.
But it is a question of emphasis, and of course, the have made you so do not. But, the Jews for whom you had they do, this is the religious pietistic model, and it is one model of Jewish spirituality. Second is intellectual, (foreign language), I will give you an example. My father has memory me for blessing; he was a very devoted Jew. He was not the most observant guy in the world Jewishly, but he read fanatically.
He was the biggest borrower of books from the public library, he constantly had a stack of books and journals about Jewish subjects by and he is constantly reading. He was a busy lawyer, but he taught at Sunday school. Many thing about my professors at the seminary, who are very observant in Jewish practice, but they are basic spiritual model. Judaism was the intellectual, the study.
The third, we would call Zionist or community, do not separate yourself from the community. Those are people for whom, love and commitment to the state of Israel, preserving the memory of the holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, raising money for Jewish causes, attending committee meetings. For them, that is their primary model of Jewish spirituality.
Fourth is social action, this grows out of the idea of the prophets. When Isaiah says in the Haphtarah, I do not want you just the fast and still achieve the pool I want, that fast could be clawing the naked and feeding the hungry. When we talk about imitating God, Imitatio Deity, following God’s path, we talked about those commandments which are deed of love and kindness, Tikuna lam repairing the world. And, that is why you can understand when you look in all of the many do good organizations in the world, how many of them are organized by Jews, or finance by Jews, or run by Jews because of the deep commitment to this spiritual matter.
And finally, something that is gaining a new strength after a period of low, but it was very strong in the Middle Ages too and earlier times, and that is a, the spiritual of cabalistic model, Jewish mysticism. People for whom, the mystical and join close to God and pro spiritually intensive way is the most important. So, to review these five spiritual models, religious pietistic is one. Intellectual common Torah study is number two. Three would be Zionism and a commitment to the people. Four would be social action, and five would be spiritual or cabalistic.
We need to understand that in all periods of Jewish history, in different communities and different times. Different on one of these has been ascertained, but they have always been Jews for whom these have been the primary models. Through all valid dimensions of Judaism and it is perfectly understandable that a different kind of personality would have been drive to lawn or another of these.
But, a full Jew would be someone who feels each of these at some of degree. And, I imagine that you probably encounter Jews who says that they are models, the correct one, and the one that Jew should live. But, it is really impossible to understand the Jewish people today without understanding these models, in the way in which different Jewish people understand and live out their Jewish life, various dimensions of, spiritual dimensions of Judaism.
I hope this sounds clarify.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services