Karis Blalock
Mr. Pauley
English III
September 4,2003
Judaism: The Past to the Present
�It is the present, not the past, that shapes our Judaism� (Shapiro 2). Has Judaism changed at all? Judaism has been around since before 600 B.C. Has Judaism evolved since then? In the past two centuries new ideas on the Holy Scriptures and rituals have arisen. Believers are rising into reformation. Some are worried that this could bring an end to the religion. Judaism has changed drastically.
How can it be that the text at the very core of Judaism, the Pentateuch, is criticized revealing the text to be internally uneven and inconsistent with the observed Jewish law causing modern believers� faith in the text to change (Halvini 1). Although the textual problems are not new discoveries, modern religious Jews have become disbelieving in the maculation of the scripture (Torah) as being mythically comforting. Ezra the Scribe, the religious leader at the time of Israel�s return from exile, presented the Holy Scriptures to the people according to the biblical account. Ezra vouched that the written word was of sacred status. The people were willing to accept God and his word at the time, yet modern believers question the accuracy of the scriptures. How do we know the scriptures are real? Many also wonder if Ezra really was �the one� God revealed the Torah to as opposed to the traditional belief that it was Moses to whom the scriptures were revealed. Modern Jews can no longer accept the old solutions for
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problems on �faith�. The solutions are not sensible any longer. Jewish faith in the Pentateuch has changed (Halvini 2-3).
The unanswered questions about the text has caused modern believers� faith to change causing Judaism to move into an �enlightened� state. Judaism is moving into an �enlightened� state. Believers want reason, but their questions cannot be answered. They are rising into reformation. The principal of autonomy is becoming acceptingly doctrinal. There is still uneasiness within the Reform community though. Many are unsure as to which to follow: autonomy as a sense of obligation to a transcendent authority or autonomy as in individual choices (Bronstein 1). In traditional societies �self� was conceived to be formed by a web of relationships of the life of a community. The relationships included one between the self and a transcendent figure. Modernly, the individual self is thought of as a group of claims of individual rights and privileges. Autonomy and morality are linked to a strong feeling of obligation. Modern Jews are now embracing freedom as the key to Judaism, yet the divine call is still the service to God. The service to God implies, only, a sense of obligation, duty, and autonomy instead of the service to idols (Bronstein 1).
Changes have been made in Jewish forms of worship, physical structures of synagogues, and in prayer text. Followers have become more interested in worldly views. There is a drive for Jewish social and economical acceptance and advancement. Even �embarrassing� practices have been changed or eliminated (Bronstein 2-4). �[�] Social, economic, political, and cultural influences on Judaism over the course of time have affected Jewish religious practice� (Bronstein 3).
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In addition to the changes in worship, structure, and text the relationship between practice and belief has become problematic. Many still follow some of the rituals and observances of their forefathers, but are not very knowledgeable about the first principals and many even reject the principals altogether. So why are they holding on to the forms? Nostalgia might be a cause. Modern Jews feel like they need to a part of the Judaism community. They need a sense of belonging, yet they continue to reform what they have already reformed until there is nothing left of their religion (Singer 1-4).
In the past few centuries, Judaism has greatly changed and still is. �[The religion] measures itself instead of using Torah as the standard to which current culture should adhere� (Bronstein 7). Judaism has lost a lot in the many attempts to modernize it. The religion will never survive without some form or various forms of revival. The survival of Judaism is at stake. The next generation must reclaim the pure form of Judaism as its religion in order to keep the religion alive.
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Works Cited:
Bronstein, Herbert. �Mitzvah and autonomy: the oxymoron of Reform Judaism
(Includes responses).� (July 01 1999): 7 Pgs. Find Articles.
Sept.4 2003<http. //www.findarticles.com>.
Halvini, David Weiss. �Revelation, Textual Criticism, and Divine Writing
(evaluation of the Pentateuch).� (March 22 1998): 19 Pgs. Find Articles.
Sept.2 2003<http. //www.findarticles.com>.
Singer, David. �Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community
(Review).� (March 1999): 4 Pgs. Find Articles.
Sept.4 2003<http. //www.findarticles.com>.
Shapiro, Rami. �Simply Jewish (Judaism for the 21st century).� (Jan. 01 1998):
3 Pgs. Find Articles. Sept. 1 2003<http. //www.findarticles.com>.
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Judaism: The Past to the Present
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Karis Blalock
Mr. Pauley
English III
September 4, 2003