Mussarnik

Quest for a Scripturalist Reform Judaism

2008-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

To help return Reform Judaism to its ethical/Biblical moorings I present a brief outline of my idea for a Scripturalist Reform Judaism. (It would be a type of Neo-Karaism.)

1. ACCEPTS OUR DIASPORA and the destruction of the 2nd Temple as God's judgment on us.

2. OUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY: To witness to the Sinai Event to the nations. In this regard, we must:
a. Follow the moral commandments.
b. Follow the cultic commandments.
1) Male circumcision a sign of the covenant.
2) Observe Sabbath and festivals.
3) Observe the law of fringes with blue ribband.
4) Clean and unclean foods.
a) No consumption of blood.
b) Meat from animals that are cloven hoofed and chew cud.
c) Sea creatures that have fins and scales.
d) Clean fowl--no birds of prey or scavengers.
e) Dairy and meat together not prohibited. (Boiling a calf in its mother's milk refers to
animal cruelty.)

3. DIFFERENCE WITH MAINLINE RABBINIC JUDAISM:
a. Oral tradition (Talmud) is study. It does not rise to the level of scripture.
b. Rabbinic decisions cannot overrule scripture.
c. Wearing fringes with a ribband of blue is required. The Torah does not require a special
blue dye from a certain shellfish.
d. Shaving is not forbidden except as a mourning rite (Vayikra 19:27-28).

4. DIFFERENCE WITH TRADITIONAL KARAISM: Traditional Karaism is culturally Arabic whereas Scripturalist Reform is would be culturally American (which is to say, Western European.) English is our mother tongue. We use a modified Reform Siddur in worship (with Hebrew and English) rather than the worship style of Traditional Karaites.

5. RELIGIOUS SYMBOL: The Two Tables of the Ten Commandments below the Star of David as used for Jewish U.S. Military chaplains.

6. ORGANIZATION: Presbyterian--rule by elders (Zakenim). A minyan (ten) of elders may establish an Edah (congregation). The traditional Hebrew designation for one set aside to teach is, "Hakham," meaning, "Sage," or "wise one." (Proverbs 13:20--"He that walketh with wise men [hakhamim] shall be wise.")

7. THE DIVINE NAME: It is acceptable to use ADONAY (our Lord) out of respect for the Divine Name. It is not, however, forbidden to pronounce the Divine Name. In modern Biblical Hebrew (Sephardic) the Divine Name may be pronounced YEHOVAH. The rabbinic prohibition against pronouncng it was based on an ancient superstition that pronouncing a god's name gave one power over the god to make it do one's bidding. To use the Divine Name in this manner would be taking God's Name in vain. The commandment not to take God's name in vain, however, did not mean not to pronounce it. In fact, never to pronounce it because of the ancient superstition would be lending credence to the superstition. YEHOVAH is based on exactly how it is written in the Masoretic text (with the modern Vav rather than Waw). And the vowel points are not those for ADONAY as is popularly believed. ADONAY has different vowel points.

8. STATEMENT OF BELIEF:
a. We believe in one God only, YEHOVAH, the God of Israel and of the Bible.
b. We accept the Hebrew Bible as God's revelation to us and our rule of faith.
c. We believe our practice and observance is modified by our circumstances which have
come about through our diaspora among the nations.
d. We believe all people are called to holiness and that God reveals Himself to all according to their circumstances and desire to do God's will.
e. We believe in the afterlife and the world to come and in God's eternal purpose for us.
f. We believe righteousness is rewarded and wickedness punished, if not now then in the world to come.
g. We believe we are spiritual beings and that true happiness comes from doing God's will.

9. CONVERSION OF PROSELYTES:
a. Males must be circumcised or undergo circumcision.
b. A period of study and practical observance.
c. The prospective proselyte then makes a formal, legal declaration of his/her intent to
convert before a Beit Din of three elders.
d. It is customary to then undergo immersion (thrice-dipping) after reciting the Shema.

10. RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRISTIANITY: Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish sage who died sanctifying the Divine Name. He became the means for the Torah going to the nations or for Japheth to enter the tents of Shem as prophesied by Noah. As a result, God's name became great among the nations and the Gentile offering acceptable to God (Malachi 1:11). Christians, therefore, we see as brothers and sisters in Abraham, though we do not accept their New Testament as scripture for ourselves. Nor do we accept Christian replacement theology, that Christianity replaces Judaism or supercedes it in some manner.

11. RELATIONSHIP WITH ISLAM: We see Muslims as brothers in Abraham, too, but their Koran is in error in some very important, critical areas (such as it revision of Torah accounts, claiming we Jews made alterations.) Christians and Jews accept the exact same Hebrew Bible with no alterations as passed down by Jewish scribes as nearly letter perfect as humanly possible (and with Divine help). The Five Books came to Moses by the finger of God and the visions of the Hebrew prophets via a tighter revelatory means than the Koran came to Mohammed. There is obviously an element of poetic license granted to Mohammed in his revelation, in which sibling rivalry (Ishmael versus Isaac) got the upper hand (i.e., in the Koran Ishmael being the subject of the Akedah rather than Isaac.) In addition, many Muslims must overcome their hostility against the State of Israel and against the rest of the non-Muslim world. As with many Christians, Muslims most grow beyond the notion that their way is the only way to God.

12. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER BRANCES OF JUDAISM: We have mentioned in 3. above our differences with mainline rabbinic Judaism. We encourage all Jews to observe the Torah and set aside all Mitzvot Anashim (commandments of men) which contradict the Torah. The recent decision of Reform and Conservative Judaisms to allow for gay marriage and ordination of practicing homosexuals to positions of spiritual leadership we see as a gross violation of the Torah. This brings malediction and will result in a terrible judgment unless there is a speedy repentance.

13. ZIONISM: Zionism is a secular political movement, not a religious movement under God's authority. But the modern State of Israel could be a stage in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. This state has a right to exist according to the law of nations. Thus it has a right to defend itself, just as any other country. The end of days, however, will only come after all Israel repents and turns to God alone. Meantime, for most Jews, our diaspora is a reality and the modern Israeli state a sign of Messianic hope.

California's Proposition 8

2008-11-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

The people of California voted to support Proposition 8. It was a simple common sense measure. "Gay marriage" is an oxymoron.

"Marriage," in the English language, means, "the mutual relation of husband and wife." Webster also says, "the institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family." (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition)

Since marriage is the joining of men and women--that is its definition--the joining of people of the same sex is something other than marriage.

No one is being denied marriage. People who do not want to join in that special relation with a member of the opposite sex are not being denied marriage by the state. They are free to marry at any time. If they choose a homosexual relationship over marriage, that is their private business. If someone chooses a career over marriage, that is one's private concern, too. If one chooses to be a Catholic nun or priest over being married, that is one's right and private concern as well.

The people of California are simply upholding Biblical morality and the integrity of the English language in not letting an oxymoron go unchallenged. I understand we have the African-American community to thank for getting this amendment in place. They have strong religious roots. It is more than I can say for fellow Jews in the Reform and Conservative movements who have supported a departure from Biblical morality on this issue, not to mention doing violence to our mother tongue.

Teshuvah: Not Changing the Law

2007-05-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Abraham Twerski, commenting on the Torah Portion, NOACH, points out what the people in the time of the Great Deluge and Sodom & Gomorrah had in common:

"The common denominator of both populations was that they convinced themselves that their actions were not wrong. The generation of the Deluge accomplished this by circumventing the law, and the Sodomites by altering the law. Both therefore believed that they had not violated any law, and where there is no awareness of wrongdoing, there is no possibility of TESHUVAH, of correcting one's actions. Sin PER SE does not warrant the ultimate of punishments, because there can be an awareness that one has sinned and abandonment of one's errant ways. It is only when one deceives himself that wrong is right that there is no possibility of change. 'For this I shall judge you harshly, for saying, I have not sinned. (Jeremiah 2:35).'" LIVING EACH DAY by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.

December 6, 2006, was a sad day for Judaism. Conservative rabbis used Talmudic reasoning to justify homosexual marriage and ordination to the rabbinate. By doing so, they placed the leadership of worldwide religious Judaism in a majority for supporting the gay agenda.

Now 70% of the leadership for religious Jews (Conservative and Reform) have elected to contermand the Torah on a strict moral commandment, that carries a strong admonition and terrible malediction. (The Orthodox are mostly quiet on the issue, prefering not to pronouce the ban against fellow Jews.)

May the Holy One grant us true repentance and may He have mercy on us all.

Traditional Morality for Jewish Reform Congregations

2007-04-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

This blog is in favor of a return to traditional morality for Jewish Reform congregations. We take as our ideal the Reform Responsa up to and including that of the late Rabbi Solomon Freehof. Though Reform Jews believe that the Torah's ritual laws are not obligatory for us, we have always considered ourselves obligated by Mussar or Ethical Laws.

The Torah speaks of homosexual acts as Toevah, "an abomination," strongly indicating that it is an ethical offense. It is the duty of the Jew, whatever his theological persuasion--Orthodox, Conservative or Reform--to witness to Torah as revelation from God and its moral teachings as binding on all mankind. If we fail in our witness we bring upon ourselves malediction.

Reform Judaism is modern in the sense that we came to believe that our Gentile neighbors, through their acceptance of the Hebrew Bible, had much more in common with us than previously recognized. The walls of the ghetto had fallen and it was time for Jews to enter the mainstream of society. As long as that society was Biblically moral, and we all shared a similar faith in the Five Books of Moses, then there was a basis for not letting ritual impediments prevent our association and common intercourse. Especially in America, with its strong Puritan ethos, was this the case. The ritual requirements of Judaism were seen as optional or even as enhancements to our faith, but no longer obligatory in the same sense as the moral commandments.

Today, however, religion is under attack by secular humanists. They are undermining our society with false utopian ideas. Reform Judaism has been critically undermined by representatives of this secular humanist political agenda. The purpose of this blog is to take part in the cultural war on the side of traditional, Biblical moral values.