Can Atheists be Good Jews?

This originally appeared in the American Jewish World

Judaism and atheism - AJW article 2009.doc

Can atheists be good Jews?

My simple answer is no. Atheism is not only the belief that there are no gods but also that the belief in gods is wrong. I believe that true atheists are few and far between and that they would not be able to connect to Judaism because of the second part of their belief.

But, questioning the existence of God, agnosticism, does not conflict with Judaism. The name Israel means to have struggled with God. To be the Children of Israel connects us with a heritage of struggling not only with what God wants of us but also with the belief that there is God. Each generation has struggled with the relevancy of traditions and how to be good Jews while balancing input from society around us. The joy of Judaism is the nuances, the variety, and the potential for personalization of the communal responsibilities.

Jewish rituals and traditions are beautiful. As we practice them, we each find different interpretations and symbolism which makes them our own. For some of us the belief that the practices connect us to God is important. For others, connecting to our heritage and to our history is what’s important. While we may not be certain there is a God, connecting to our ancestors who were certain, allows us to continue our own questioning and our own struggle.

True Atheism believes there are no gods. They are done wrestling. Judaism is challenging. It challenges our spirit, our bodies and our minds. And by wrestling through the challenge, we grow; not only as Jews but as human beings as well.

Am I Ever Bored At Services?

This originally appeared in the American Jewish World newspaper:

Are You Ever Bored In Services?

Rabbi Charni Flame Selch

There is a wonderful midrash in Shir Hashirim Rabbah which starts, ‘Once, when Rabbi Judah Hanasi was teaching, the congregation became drowsy…’

Imagine, people at the time of the Talmud were bored sometimes, so why not us? The simple answer is yes, I do get bored. And I’m in good company. Everyone is bored at one point or another.

I think the issue of being bored is what we do about it. It helps to ask why we are bored. Do we not understand the prayers? Do we not like the tunes? Do we need to connect to God in a different way? Are we relying on someone else to engage us?

Boredom is not the end. It should be a beginning The cure for boredom is curiosity. The midrash about Rabbi Judah says that when he saw that the congregation was drowsy, he changed his tactics and told an engaging story to grab their attention and nurture their curiosity

We are each responsible for our own approach to God. When we are bored, we owe it to ourselves to change our own tactics and approach the situation in a different way. Sometimes when I’m bored I will re-read the English while we chant the Hebrew or read other excerpts in the Chumash. Other times, I watch others around me and enjoy their sense of connection. That’s why communal prayers are so important. They give us a framework in which we can indulge our boredom and cultivate our answers to it.

The Back Story on Belief and Leadership

As we read the book of Exodus, I am often torn when we read this section of the Torah- it cries out as a national history; a development of us as a nation and of us as a community.  But, there are voices that are not heard here. When I see the Children of Israel dancing in freedom, I think of the people through whom God channels in order to get them there.

There is a wonderful verse in this week’s parsha which we recite every morning during shacharit. “And when Israel saw the wondrous power which the Lord had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord; they had faith in the Lord and His servant Moses.” (14:31)

Sure, it’s easy for the people to be completely awed by God’s works. But why is it that the Torah needs to mention that the Children of Israel believed in Moses? Moses isn’t a God, Moses didn’t take them out of slavery - God did.

I see that one verse as being full of a huge back-story. No matter how much Moshe did, no matter how vast the changes he was involved in, he was still not accepted by the people. When he saved the slave by killing the task-master, the slave’s response wasn’t ‘thanks’. He responded by implying Moshe might kill him as well. When Moshe leads the people on God’s path to the edge of the Red Sea, their response isn’t ‘great job’. Their response is; ‘Weren’t there enough graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die?’

When the Children of Israel celebrate their new found freedom by dancing and singing on the shores of the sea, it is with Moses that they sing to God. And when a few days later, they find no water to drink, they again come back to blame Moshe.

So why am I torn and whose voice is missing?

My sympathies lie with Moshe. Is there nothing he can do right? Is nothing he does ever enough? Did anyone think that maybe just like they have doubts, he had doubts?

This is one of the voices missing- Moshe’s voice. When he stopped and asked why he was doing this did he say “let someone else lead today, I’m going to spend the day with my family”? When he missed the mannah pick up because he was talking with Mrs. Y about her son’s problem, did he just say, “Oh well, I guess we’ll have leftovers again”? Was his household the shoemaker’s household, in which his children go barefoot because he is too busy making shoes for others? I would like to hear Moshe’s explaining what it is that keeps him going.

And one of the other voices missing in this story is Tzipporah, Moshe’s wife. What did she think when the Children of Israel abused her husband? What did she think when he was due home for dinner but didn’t make it? What did she say when there was a knock on the tent flap at 2 in the morning? I would like to hear her voice explaining how she had the strength to be supportive when the Children of Israel are not. It is, after all, Tzipporah who allows Moshe to be Moshe. She is the one who said, “Hon, whatever you want. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

So I am torn, my sympathies lie with Moshe but I understand the fear of the people. Change and adventure and re-envisioning are scary and difficult, and the known is often easier than the unknown. But I think that verse also explains this. Amidst the arguing and the complaining, the Children of Israel also come to Moshe for the smachot, the celebrations. Amid the fear and anxiety, the Children of Israel and their leader could celebrate life’s unexpected turns as well. The Children of Israel saw God’s greatness, and believed in God and accepted Moshe as God’s servant. And as someone wise once said, “as long as the good days outnumber the bad, you can accomplish anything.”

May we all sing together as we continue our journey.