Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 GARFIELD 20/11/84; site garfield.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!garfield!lionel From: lionel@garfield.UUCP (Lionel H. Moser) Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: % of "Non-Religious" Jews and Brass Tacks Message-ID: <3434@garfield.UUCP> Date: Sat, 17-Aug-85 19:28:49 EDT Article-I.D.: garfield.3434 Posted: Sat Aug 17 19:28:49 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 18-Aug-85 21:43:23 EDT References: <549@bu-cs.UUCP> Organization: Memorial U. of Nfld. C.S. Dept., St. John's Lines: 100 In <549@bu-cs.UUCP> Shelli Meyerswrites: > .... I am in no position to tell you what that's supposed > to mean...whether it's supposed to be by virtue of birth or whether > it means you're forbidden or supposed to adhere, etc. I don't know > where you pulled that stuff from. It's just that I've really never > met a non-religious Jew who still feels it important to BE a Jew. > Shelli Meyers > sam@bu-cs.UUCP I don't know whether I feel it is *important* to BE a Jew. There are, however, reasons to feel Jewish without religious belief being one of them, and it makes sense to try to be a good Jew as far as behaving ethically is concerned. I misread your question and wrote down how I can feel Jewish without being religious. Thus I don't answer your point about how a non-religious Jew can think it is important to BE a Jew. I feel Jewish, and it is important that I BE ME, namely, a non-religious Jew. [The list which follows is actually a response to a question which has occasionally been posed to me: how can I call myself an atheist Jew?) Non-religious belief reasons for identifying one's self as Jewish: (1) Not wishing to be Christian a) Catholicism is really unappealing; b) Christianity has been the cause of much murder, war, etc., over the last couple of thousand years. note: I have found that if my friends and colleagues do not know that I am Jewish, then they assume that I am Christian and all that that entails (Christmas celebrations, certain ethics, ...). None of this supposes any religious belief. In fact, not celebrating any Christian holidays makes me feel different from those around me, which is okay, since I am. (2) Being born Jewish. It doesn't make one feel Jewish, but it helps. Add to this category having had some Jewish environment in the home. For example, Passover is a traditional occasion for the extended family to get together. It is also the one religious service I can enjoy for its own sake. I wouldn't get off on thanking the lord for killing the first-born children of Egyptians, but celebrating Freedom is not such a bad idea. (3) Exposure to and/or knowledge of antisemitism. There is nothing like good old prejudice to make one aware of one's place in the scheme of things. Like going to the toilet at the University of Manitoba and seeing KILL THE JEWS scratched on the stall wall. Or knowing that McGill University, University of Manitoba, and presumably many others had quotas on Jews in professional schools after the Second World War. (At this school there more swastikas than Jews, but few of either.) Realising that no matter how one feels about being Jewish, Nazis consider only (2) when deciding your fate. A good portion of the Russian Jews who arrive in Canada have little interest in living a Jewish life. Many have not practiced Judaism for more than a generation and did not emigrate in order to be able to more easily practice their religion. They left because (a) life is better outside of the Soviet Union, and (b) they were discriminated against in the Soviet Union for *being* Jewish, not for practicing Judaism. (4) Having grown up in a Jewish ghetto, feeling a kinship with Jewish people. It's like Vonnegut's extended family theory. I move to a new province, and the Jewish community welcomes me like a member of some tribe. (5) Having had some Jewish parochial training, ie., Hebrew or Yiddish language instruction. Perhaps also Torah studies, etc. Note that none of this implies belief. Think of it as "comparative religious studies." You don't have to study Christianity to learn a bit about it when growing up in a Christian society. (6) Having relatives in Israel (read having Zionists in the family). (7) Getting off on visiting places which have a "Jewish" feel to them, eg, Israel, NYC, Toronto. (8) Pride in the fact that Jews have given much to Mankind (eg, ). (An aside: I asked some years ago a Jewish friend whether he was "proud to be a Canadian," to which he replied, "No. What profound contributions has Canada made to the world? If I *was* going to be proud of some group affiliation, I'd be more proud of being of Jew." And in fact, being Jewish meant little to him.) (9) Finding Jewish philosophy easier to digest than most other religious philosophies. Jewish philosophy places the emphasis more or less in the right place more than most others. Viz., upon the sanctity of human life and upon the the absolute importance that we, as Jews, be an ethical role model for all peoples. Being glad that my religion is non-evangelical. While Jewish law states that it is important for a Jew to be a good (read observant of belief and custom) Jew, it does not try to convert anyone else to behave in this fashion. I find religions which state that non-believers in that particular truth are unfit to share either society or heaven a bit hard to take. Disclaimer: My knowledge of Judaism, which I unabashedly brandish about, is rudimentary and probably error-ridden. Somebody may wish to correct any misconceptions I have about Jewish philosophy. Lionel Moser UUCP: {ihnp4, utcsri, allegra, philabs} !garfield!lionel