Wide Eyed and Ready to Go

As readers of my blog many of you know that I posses a deep struggle between living my Judaism and how the Halachic (Jewish legal system) framework fits into my life. After many conversations with friends, one recommended that I join her for a lecture given by Rabbi David Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute here in Jerusalem. Man oh man, am I glad I went!

Here are my notes of the evening. All thoughts are Rabbi Hartmans unless stated otherwise:

Standing Before God Mitzvah (Commandment) and Halacha: Their Significance for Modern Jewery--Rabbi Prof. David Hartman

-It is essential for there to be the empowering of the individual to take personal responsibility for Halachic behavior, when there there is a conflict between morality and Halacha. This specifically is in reference mostly to Family law (Marriage, Divorce, etc...) and how Judaism percieves the 'other'.
*It is within these cases that Individual choice trumps Halachic Authority.
*Question: Can the Halacha (a collective normative structure of practice) make
room for the individual to do so? In doing so dows the individual abandon
Judaism?

-Personal initiative vs. Responsibility
*There is a paradigm found within our biblical stories of Abraham. Sedom vs.
Sacrific of Isaac
1. Story of Abraham arguing with God over the destruction of Sedom. He did so
with no precedent set for such an interaction.
2. The Akedah (Sacrifice of Isaac). In this instance there was a total
submission by Abraham to God. This is not what Judaism is about. This was a
moment of weakness by God to self assert authority over man. This was not the
covenant. The Akedah should not be the model, the pillar for Jewish life.

-Sense of Self is not a diminishing aspect of religious life. Religion will die if it is not nurtured by moral vigor, empowerment and individuality.

-The covenant God is saying to man is: "I need you, I want you". It is a call for responsibility to translate Torah for everyday life. A personal question of "What does God want from Me?" should be asked by each one of us as we make our choice in life.

-Halacha should not be relied upon to be the rule book for life. It should not be untouchable for questioning. It is not a book of legislating rules. It is a book that was created by Rabbis who needed to solve the problem of the absence of God in history. There were no more prophets. There was the realization that there is no reward/merit for the Mitzvot (commandments of the Torah) in this world. So they offered a book that dictated merit and consequence for a transgression.

-You are responsible for your life as a religious Jew. Do not hide behind the Shulchan Aruch (codified book of Halacha made for the masses who were unable or unwilling to decide their own choices through educated decision of their [individual or local communal] understanding of the Talmud). There is a demand for consciousness. It is our responsibility for individuality that holds us in the presence of God.

-Sense of 'Jewishness' today and Jewish identity are: The Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. These two things are what drive Jews to live, to survive. They have created a shared destiny, a family defined by historical commonality. We are not defined by Halacha. Halacha is a shared commitment of normative practice. Jews do not define themselves by normative practice rather the idea of being part of a family. If it were normative practice how could you ever step out of it?
*Question today: Who feels like they are part of the family?
How do we define our family?

-Since Halacha is no longer THE foundation of Jewish life, we must look to individual responsibility instead of normative practice. Halacha is however a necessity (still R. Hartman speaking). For me, atleast. Therefore I must find morality within it. why be commited to this system of Halacha? It is one that ignores 1/2 the population of the Jewish people (i.e. women) and lookes negatively upon non-Jews! This is my struggle, but it is not the question that takes priority today. The question that takes priority is why aren't Jews connecting to Judaism? Why aren't they connecting to one another? The focus should be the survival and continuity of the Jewish people, not the emphasis of Halacha. This idea is found at the essence of Zionism. It is the desire to be a part of the people.

-The Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements get this idea of survival. Orthodoxy however still places priority on halacha. As a resuct the rift between them is growing wider and more divisive. It will be a nasty troubling divide.

-Crisis of Modern Judaism is that the virtuality of Halachic life that does not mesh in the reality of Jewish life. To debate how much a true Kazayit measurement is, or how high a mechitzah should be is just not relevent!

-We need to create vessels of receptivity, not slap people with a line in the sand dictated by the Shulchan Aruch.

-WE NEED TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION OPEN!
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The Man ended with the EXACT statement I have been wanting to hear all year!!! To have validation on so many of my concerns, to hear that I am not the only person out there thinking this way was SUCH a discovery.

If only the Orthodox world were listening more closely to R. David Hartman and R. Yitz Greenberg...where would Orthodox Judaism be today??

For more information on the lecture series or on the Shalom Hartman Institute please visit: www.hartmaninstitute.com