Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism part 15

As the idea of the Havurah movement became more mainstream in the mid 1970s, interest in communes was dwindling. Some Havurot became places for prayer and study meetings, with the members living independently. Some were welcomed as separate groups within an existing synagogue. More importantly, many synagogues switched from being dry centers of ethnicity and ceremony, to becoming vibrant centers of Torah study and spiritual awareness. Being initially an offshoot of Conservatism, the Havurah movement was primarily intellectual; WHAT do Jews do, and WHY? Just the facts, please. To be sure, there was an element of seeking G-d, as well as individual soul searching. But these were secondary to knowledge. A new approach was being formulated, however. The focus of prayer; indeed of EVERYTHING, should be G-d. Some rabbis of the Havurah movement's leadership, joined by some Orthodox and even Hasidic rabbis who had left the path of Orthodoxy, began to make new semi-Havurot. Like the Hippie movement, that  went from a focus on self reliance, to a search for spirituality (which then became first focused on drugs, then on cults), the newcomers sought first, and foremost, spirituality. They drew heavily on Hasidic ideology, if not practice, but did not hesitate to include insights from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sufism, and a host of others. This approach became known as "Jewish Renewal". It emphasizes ecstatic experiences,  mantra meditation, feminism, pacifism; in short, just like what the Hippie movement had become in its second stage. One of its founders even said "Judaism has a point of diminishing returns, which requires us to supplement from elsewhere." Jewish Renewal now ordains its own rabbis. It takes two forms. One is as a confederation of Renewal groups around the country and beyond it, which has, for all intents and purposes become yet another denomination. The other is as an individual experience of people who belong to the other denominations. One will frequently encounter in a Reform or Conservative synagogue (and occasionally Orthodox), one or more persons who, during services, is wrapped in a tallit (often decorated in many colors), dancing and chanting by themselves. In the 1960s, they would have undoubtedly been expelled from the service. But the Havurah movement has made many communities open to different experiences. Although Renewal began with the Havurot, in some ways, it is the opposite of that movement. Some have compared it to the Mitnagdim (the Lithuanian opponents to Hasidism) versus the Hasidim; knowledge versus experiences. Another difference is in leadership. Whereas the Havurot were decidedly "do it yourself", Renewal centers around charismatic leaders. Here, too, it parallels the Hippie experience, as many became cult figures.  Mainline Renewal is decidedly non-halachic. But another form, which doesn't identify as Renewal, despite springing from it, maintains the basics of a traditional lifestyle. However, the emphasis is clearly on experiencing the joy of Jewish life. This form avoids non-Jewish influences, but often takes liberties with some Jewish observances, similar to some forms of Modern Orthodox that I have previously described. "Holiness", in these groups, is often synonymous with "feels good" What can and must be said is that Renewal, in its various forms, has brought a consciousness of G-d to many thousands of people. This was, however, at the cost of much of the message and framework of Torah.

Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism part 14

A hallmark of the Hippie movement was "The Whole Earth Catalog". It showed how to be self-reliant in building your own furniture, home repair, growing crops, etc. It also had lists of places where tools could be bought, and skills learned. The Havurah movement had, until 1973, been somewhat anonymous, and received little publicity. What little reporting there was, was almost always negative. All that changed with the publication of "The First Jewish Catalog". Put together by young people who had studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative), it was a how-to book for being Jewish. The major life cycle events; prayer, holidays, Shabbat, Kashrut...were all there, presented in an easy-to-read manner, carefully .avoiding denominational differences. Things that had long been the province of Jewish professionals, were now open to the public. For example, there were instructions on how to blow the shofar, or perform your own wedding. The basic halachic requirements were spelled out, as well as what the mitzvah means. Myth and folklore are put aside in favor of actual historical and theological facts. Cute illustrations are provided, and the style is chatty, not erudite. For the first time in modern history, a Jew without extensive Talmudic knowledge could know what to do, and what it means. Although there is a chapter on "resources" (i.e., sympathetic rabbis), it is mostly do-it-yourself". (Ironically, I am listed in the first edition as the Chabad representative for Columbus, Ohio), It became an instant best seller. People were calling it "The American Shulchan Aruch" (Code of Jewish Law). One of the authors told me that had they known that it would become that, they would have gone into greater detail. I think that it is good that they didn't do that, as it would certainly have been less "reader friendly". Also, many of the topics were "for now" topics, that would have meant nothing in a few years. (Such as anti-Vietnam war activities). Although a counter-culture book, it changed the establishment. Many synagogues began using it as a textbook both for Hebrew School and adult education. Congregants could come to their rabbis, for the first time with real Jewish information and knowledge, and ask "hey, why don't WE do this?" 1973 was still a decade before Jewish Feminism became a major factor, so there is little on this and other topics that would soon become great battlegrounds. Although later events made the book fairly obsolete, a fundamental shift took place in American Judaism. Aloof rabbis largely disappeared from the seen. Rabbis who were open to a participatory Judaism were now in demand. Many aspects of Traditional Judaism that had become the province of only the ultra-Orthodox, now became part of the lives of even non-orthodox Jews. The much-maligned Havurah movement now became a model for the Jewish community. In a sense, synagogues became Havurot. Some synagogues even instituted Havurot WITHIN the synagogue; not communes, but small groups of twenty or thirty people, of similar interests, who would study and pray together. Some synagogues went to a system of three or four simultaneous services in different parts of the building, accommodating different styles of worship...and community. The subsequent development of the Havurah, and the additional movement it gave birth to, will be my next topic.

Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism part 13

The mid to late 1960s, into the mid-1970s, saw the rise of a new movement. It's initial form has all but faded, but its influence is still keenly felt. Perhaps more important is what its implications are for the entire Jewish community, including us. It was known as the Havurah movement. A Havurah means a "group" or "fellowship". As early as 1960, there began to appear Jewish agricultural communes in rural areas. With the mid 1960s, the counter-culture Hippie movement had begun; first on the West Coast of the United States, then quickly spreading from coast to coast. It was a reaction to the war in Southeast Asia, a general malaise about government and society, and essentially rejecting the values of previous generations. The Hippies saw themselves as the beginning of a new era, the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. Many Hippies left home, and gathered in various communal settings, further alienating themselves from "polite society". Terms like "generation gap" and "credibility gap" were common fare in the media. These ideas hit home for many young Jews as well, leading them into the Hippie movement. But another group arose within that setting. Its members wanted to be Jewish, but resented the large suburban mega-synagogues that were common at the time. (One rabbi quipped that American Jews have an "edifice complex"). Most rabbis of these synagogues were aloof, and did little to further the spiritual growth of their communities. Judaism, in these communities, was cultural, sociological, ethnocentric, but rarely spiritual, or even participatory. Rabbi A, J. Heschel wrote "the American Synagogue is suffering from a severe cold". Synagogues were often political battlegrounds. The founding members of these synagogues usually jealously guarded their rights and privileges, with young people kept in the background. Ostentation and conspicuous consumption were hallmarks of Jewish suburbia. Some of these disenfranchised youth formed communes of their own. In these communes, they began to practice a brand of Judaism that encouraged study and participation. They would worship together, and explore new ways of doing things. The most influential people in this movement came mostly from the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary, but had broken away from the structure that had become standard and standardized. These communes, now called Havurot, had no rabbis or professional leadership. Together, the members would study texts, and plan religious celebrations and observances. Some Havurot aimed more at universalism, Others explored what being Jewish means. The American Jewish establishment was scandalized by the new movement. First of all, it had thrown off the leadership of the Jewish community; not only on the local level, but even at the national level. In addition, the sexual freedom which had become so widespread in American society was also to be found in the Havurot. Not that this is acceptable from a halachic standpoint, but it was so pervasive at the time, that rationalizations were found to allow this behavior within a Jewish context. (Remember, this was NOT an Orthodox movement, but it did bring young people much closer to an understanding and appreciation of Judaism.) The very existence of Havurot was seen as a threat to everything Judaism had come to stand for. The reaction of the organized community was to ignore the Havurah phenomenon, except for an occasional article in obscure publications. "Ignore it, it will go away" was the general attitude. But it didn't. In 1973, a book came out that had a great impact in the short run, but changed Jews' perception of themselves and their faith ever since. It is so outdated now, that we may giggle at some of its ideas. But a spark was kindled which still is a light to many. That will be the topic of my next post.

Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism part 12

In my previous post, I outlined the birth of the Musar approach. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter wrote little, but urged the implementation of Musar study by scholars and laymen alike. Musar literature was a vast, largely untapped resource, that needed to be a part of everyone's consciousness. His students continued this approach, despite the objections of those who saw this as a dangerous departure from the classical Yeshivah tradition of study. In the next generation, two disciples arose with greatly differing approaches to the practice of Musar.
One was Rabbi Nassan Tzvi Finkel, the "Alter (Old Man) of Slobodka". His approach to Musar was to emphasize what is POSSIBLE. Man is created in the image of G-d. The Midrash says that when Adam was created, the angels wanted to sing praise to him as they do before G-d. Man's rightful state is nearly divine. If a person would study and live Torah, he could fulfill his destiny, being right with G-d, right with the world, and right with himself. What is keeping us back? Only our feelings of insecurity, a poor self-image, and depression. What about the traditional Torah emphasis on humility? That doesn't apply to the average person, bowed down with feelings of worthlessness. Arrogance, for those people, is merely a show; a mask hiding their negative feelings. Musar, in Slobodka, became an exercise in gaining a sense of self-worth, leading to a better sense of our importance, and encouraging us to serve both G-d and our fellow man. The Slobodka approach is the one that became most widely accepted, and is practiced today in most Lithuanian-type Yeshivot. Critics will say that this produces a cadre of egocentric scholars, basking in the glow of their own imagined self-worth. I tend to agree.
The other disciple was Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz of Nevardok. His approach was exactly the opposite of Slobodka. Ego needs to be broken, in order to let the Divine shine within us. His students will do things designed to attract ridicule; for instance, going into a bakery and ordering a pound of nails. The baker, as well as the customers, will laugh at him and call him names. The student will experience shame, thus weakening, and finally breaking his ego. (It is rumored that some bakeries leave a pound of nails under the counter, in case a Nevardoker will come by). This is by far less practiced, but remains the approach of a few Yeshivot.
These schools of Musar have produced an entire literature of ethics and self-improvement. While positive, it has been argued that these works suffer from a very limited understanding of human psychology, and have not drawn upon the great advances in this field that have taken place in the last one hundred and fifty years.
Interestingly, in recent years, the Conservative and Reform seminaries have introduced elective courses in Musar. Also, a number of non-affiliated groups have remade Musar, including ideas of great psychologists who lived after the era of the rabbis of Slobodka and Nevardok. Some even encourage the study of Musar for non-Jews.
Today, in the "Yeshivah World" there are those who still shun Musar, but most have included it as a vital part of actually living that which we study. Personally, while I revere many of the classics of Musar, I am left unmoved by later Musar works. They read more like Dale Carnegie books for self-help, rather than as directions to find G-d. In my estimation, Hasidism is light years ahead of nineteenth and twentieth-century Musar. In my next post, I will show how the counter-culture movement of the late '60s and early '70s gave birth to two mostly, but not exclusively, non-Orthodox approaches to Judaism.

Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism part 11

Throughout the nineteenth century, the pilpul method of study became more and more refined, with several different schools arising with variations on methodology. But other movements threatened. Hasidism, with its emphasis on spirituality and exuberance seemed to many to be far more attractive. The rabbis who ran the great Lithuanian yeshivot, however, were opposed to Hasidism. In fact, they became known as the "Mitnagdim"; the opponents. They saw an emphasis on the emotional to be a threat to the intellectual. Leaders chosen because of their spiritual heights, rather than their erudition, seemed to be in conflict with Jewish tradition as the Mitnagdim understood it. Also, many customs had been changed by the Hasidim, primarily influenced by Kabbalah. The Mitnagdim also studied Kabbalah, but theirs was speculative and philosophical, not the introspective and emotional brand of the Hasidim. (The word "dry" comes to mind.) Customs remained sacrosanct and unchanged. But emotions, for most people, are very central to our humanity. The so-called "Enlightenment" from the West glimmered with the promise of a greatly broadened horizon, but at the expense of the Torah way of life as it had been known. Pilpul had no response to these challenges. In the mid and late nineteenth century, a new voice was heard. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1810–1883), a scholar in the Lithuanian Yeshivish tradition, founded the Musar Movement. It was not so much a movement, but a change in emphasis WITHIN the Yeshivish "world". Musar means both "ethics" and "rebuke". The term is found in the Book of Proverbs in connection with personal growth and improvement. There had long existed a rich literature, written by great rabbis that dealt with these topics. Some of these works were based on Kabbalah, some on the philosophical tradition, still others were built upon Talmudic statements. Unfortunately, these works had been de-emphasized in favor of devotion to Talmud, and especially pilpul. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter had been encouraged by his teacher to make the study of the Musar literature an integral part of his learning. One year, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Rabbi Yisrael was preparing for the Holy Day. He was walking through the streets of Salant, He wondered how much longer until the fast would begin, and the awesome "Kol Nidrei" service would take place. He saw another rabbi, and noticed that he was wearing a pocket watch. Rabbi Yisrael said to him "Excuse me, could you tell me the time?" The other rabbi became furious. "What?!?! You dare interrupt my thoughts of repentance and self improvement by asking me the time? What is the matter with you?" Rabbi Yisrael was stunned by the response. Judaism is a balance between one's relationship with G-d and one's relationship with Man. Of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, one was primarily about the former, one the latter. The other rabbi could have gained a mitzvah by simply looking at his watch and telling him the time. Something was very, very wrong. Rabbi Yisrael proceeded to write and preach in favor of making the study of the Musar literature a part of the daily schedule of study in every Yeshivah, as well as part of the study practices of everyday Jews in their spare time. He was by no means opposed to pilpul. But time must also be devoted to learning about being a "Mentch"; a human being, who conducts himself as such. He gathered students around him who absorbed and promulgated this approach. Surprisingly, he met with great opposition. "A new order of study?!?! That is Reform!" His opponents argued that Rabbi Yisrael was doing the same thing as the Enlightenment people and the Hasidim; changing Judaism. Lines were drawn between the Musar Yeshivot, and the non-Musar Yeshivot. Unlike the fight with Hasidism, which had resulted in bans of excommunication and even violence, this struggle remained ideological and intellectual. The Mussar Yeshivot maintained the usual order of study and pilpul, but now there was a daily fixed time for the study of ethics and character. The heads of these yeshivot would give, from time to time (usually weekly), lectures on changing the inner self for the better. This is known as the "Musar Shmoos" (Musar Discussion). Many yeshivot had special rooms where a student could go for an hour to contemplate his own character, his relationship to G-d, and his connection with his fellow man. Eventually, the Musar Yeshivot came to outnumber the non-Musar ones. The students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter developed two totally different approaches to Musar, which remain to this day, I shall discuss these in my next post.