What Is a Jew?

The confused conundrums of late-stage Rationalism

Tapping into the spiritual energies while standing in silence for the siren.

Introduction

If you’ve only recently tuned in, you’ll be excused for thinking that “Rationalism” is the name of a movement devoted to an ad nauseum rehash of the seven decade old debate over Yeshiva students serving in the IDF. But every so often the proponents put out something (or repost something) that resembles their long ago claim of having discovered an alternative – and far more sophisticated – stream of authentic Judaism. Their recent offerings stir up some unresolved enigmas about the movement’s assumptions and purpose, which we will attempt to sort out here.

1.      Ideological

A recent guest post on Rationalist Judaism stirringly declares: “The previous generations fought with their body and soul to say the words – we are Jews. And now it’s our turn to shout it out to the world. We are Jews!”

The sentiment itself, touching though it is, is fairly unremarkable. What does stand out though is its presentation in the context of Dr. Slifkin’s ongoing exposition on the benefits of Judaism – rationalist style¹. A delightful mix of paradox and parody (both apparently unintended) this highly touted series once and for all lays bare the highest ideals of a post-chareidi worldview: which boil down, thus far, to the fact that religious people² tend to live a bit longer and are more likely to marry³. So there you have it.

What strikes the reader is not merely disgust, but even more so the breathtaking vacuity of a meaningless ideology. Of the awesome opportunity to live an elevated life of spirituality and purpose, to connect with Ribono Shel Olam through tefilla, to delve into the infinite depths of His da’as through limud haTorah, to delight in His closeness on Shabbos and Yom Tov, to appreciate the thrilling interconnectivity of inyanei machshava and Moadim and Tanach and Aggadas Chazal, to participate in the fulfilment of His plan through kiyum hamitzvos, this blogger is willfully blind and deaf – he has long ago declared himself too grown up for all the fairy tale stuff. And so he is left with lecturing his sorry band of confused adherents on the some side lifestyle benefits that are thrown in when you sign up to Jews for A.

All fine and well. Let him practice Judaism as a sort of statistical segula for shalom bayis, elixir of longevity, and cure for advanced gum disease. But in that light, his posted declarations of religious pride seem jarringly out of place. Some extra time for shuffleboard in the retirement home is very nice and all, but to ‘fight body and soul to say the words’, to take ‘our turn to shout out to the world’, that “WE ARE THE PEOPLE WITH 4.3 YEARS OF ADDITIONAL LIFE EXPECTANCY!” just strikes as a tad over the top.  

2.      Intellectual

Of course, it’s all just a hodgepodge of feel-good cliché; Dr. Slifkin cannot reasonably shout out to the world that “we are Jews” – he has no coherent definition of what a Jew is, much less why it’s anything to shout about. What’s far more mystifying is why one would feel an intellectual pull specifically into this shallow and dry religious construct.

Take⁴ for example his recent shtickel Torah about the symbolism of matzah. Dr. Slifkin suggests that the catalyst for the mitzvah was to represent the transformation from the sedentary agricultural lifestyle of Egypt back to the Hebrews’ nomadic heritage. 

As vertlach go, it’s ok I guess⁵. What’s odd is not that he’d try his hand at a Pesachtime chiddush – how many of us haven’t – but his expressed reasons for doing so. Dr. Slifkin does not present his idea as a contribution to the existing literature, but rather as an alternative. You see, conventional pshatim about the mitzvah of matzah⁶ are simply not ‘rationalist’ enough – they presuppose such things as “metaphysical forces” and “spiritual powers in force at that time of year”, way too heavy on the magical heebie jeebie side of things⁷. Thus, his refreshingly grounded substitute.

But what does ‘rational’ even mean in this context? Is there something unreasonable about avodas Hashem being something deeper than some empty symbolic gestures and pragmatic tips for this that or the other? Being that there is an omnipresent, omnipotent Borei Olam, and that He took the Yidden out of Mitzraim to be His special nation and gave them His Torah⁸, wouldn’t it be far more rational to assume that He is something more than a stuffy high school math teacher? Wouldn’t spiritual realities and systems be an expected accessory to an infinite all-powerful creator, and form the most natural underpinnings for his communicated commandments? Why on earth would anyone find this a disturbing idea that requires intellectual twists to specifically avoid?

Best I can make out, when people like Dr. Slifkin say ‘rational’ what they mean is ‘relating to the stuff I see in front of me on a daily basis’. But that’s a ridiculous metric by which to assess the true nature of anything. When I look at a piece of wood, I don’t see the interrelation and binding of molecules made of atoms with protons and electrons and quarks circling and jumping and dancing and firing and G-d (or whomever) knows what else all at the same time. I just see a piece of wood. Should I start a blog devoted to ‘Rationalist Physics’ which denies all these hoojie woojie assumptions of a submicroscopic quantum reality⁹? Or perhaps one about ‘Rationalist Engineering’, which asserts that the Verrazano Bridge is clearly being propped up by those two cement blocks on the shores, so we can finally get past these iffy claims of some mysterious “calculus” and “spherical trigonomic forces” that contribute to its stability?

No. Because what you see with your eyes is merely one of many factors in assessing the true nature of reality, and a rather blunt one at that. And to doggedly insist that all phenomena are limited to the characteristics that you perceive in your daily experiences is hardly a sophisticated worldview.

Once you recognize the existence of the Ribbono Shel Olam and ruchniyus, it’s highly probable that His Torah and mitzvos serve in some way to connect us to that reality¹⁰. We can discuss the exact mix of introspection, mesorah, and textual analysis that provide insight into the properties and interconnective systems of spirituality, but to simply assume that the sum total of it all amounts to whatever smacks you in the face when you wake up from your nap is, if you’ll pardon me, by far the most irrational of all available options.

3.      Ceremonial

Every religion commemorates significant events in its history, whether triumphant or tragic. In my shtetel, for example, we meditate over churban Europe in the same way (and on the same day) we mourn the meta-churban and crushing universal hester panim that it is a facet of – by the mournful recitation of kinos and prayers for the day of macha Hashem dimah m’al kal panim. Dr. Slifkin tells us that in his Yeshiva days he used to do it by saying Psalms, which I guess does the trick too.

But no longer. Tehilim zugging being highly irrational, he now promotes standing still for a minute at the sound of a siren instead – a ritual, he solemnly informs us, which traces its roots back over one hundred years to a Cape Town, South Africa municipal ordinance.

It’s conundrum time again. What, you may be wondering, is the rationalistic pragmatic benefit accrued by this moment of silent standing? And the answer is, um.

One might have thought that the point is to show respect and to join in a communal expression of solidarity and unity and whatnot¹¹, but Natan tells us that even back in his charedi days he’d respectfully participate if he happened to in public when the siren went off¹². Now that he’s seen the light of rationalism he apparently observes this tradition even b’chadrei chadarim, so we’re back at the question. What materialistic tangible advantage is there to standing stock still for 60 seconds, that aren’t accomplished by a somber kapitil Tehilim? Does he perhaps believe all that silence somehow helps the departed souls in their eternal resting place?

Nah. He must have found a link between occasional immobile siren listening and lower divorce rates.    

Conclusion

By all indications, Rationalism as an institutions is spent, its former enthusiasts having apparently found something more productive to do with their free time¹³. But it may still have what to offer for a sincere seeker. If you’re in the market for a religious experience that is ideologically empty, intellectually irrational, and given to meaningless superstitious rituals, then Rationalist Judaism may very well be for you.¹⁴ 

1. See here and here and here.

2. Not specifically Jewish people, mind you, but what’s a pedantic detail amongst friends.

3. It should obviously follow that we’d promote specifically a chareidi lifestyle by this exact same rationale – statistics indicate that these fringe benefits are higher amongst the ultra-orthodox than any other segment. For unexplained reasons, as of this writing Dr. Slifkin has not yet taken that logical next step.

4. Please.

5. It suffers from a rather glaring flaw to its premise – the Torah stresses repeatedly that the Yidden did not leave Mitzraim for a life of nomadic shepherding; Eretz Yisroel was a thoroughly agriculture-based society. But in the scheme of things this pshat is no better or worse than the standard sheva brachos drasha fare.

6. Such as the one provided by the Haggadah, for example.

7. His primary scholarly objection to Rashi’s approach is that it reminds him of “a certain video of Esav making a bracha”. My filter does not allow me to view the offending media, so I am unable to weigh in on the heady question of how big a role some millennial’s free association resulting from too much screen time should play in dictating the Divine rationale for mitzvos.

8. And that understanding is presumably the starting point for all these discussions.

9. I mean, if the idea of dueling subatomic particles doesn’t remind you of some really awesome movies, you’re just not getting out enough.

10. Here an important distinction must be drawn: To be sure, Torah and mitzvos were given from on high to govern our lives in this world; it is thus eminently reasonable that they’d have a great deal of practical application and ramifications as well. Which is why nobody has any problem with the more prosaic rationales expounded by the Sefer Hachinuch for example, as one of many facets of the ratzon Hashem. Where self-described ‘rationalists’ go off the rails is by insisting (contrary to the Chinuch) that these pshatim must be the only pshat, because anything more esoteric is simply too mysterious for them, and therefore, presumably, for G-d as well.

11. And maybe even, I don’t know, to be a light unto the nations or something.

12. Obviously, kinos and communal prayer accomplish all the same pragmatic things that standing silently does, and then some. The real reason that Charedim generally try to avoid participating in the siren ritual is – as Natan acknowledges and as every single knowledgeable chareidi will tell you – not because the deny the affirmation element of the tradition but rather because they acknowledge it. As they also recognize the history and agendas associated with this affirmation, they prefer not to express their solidarity, and instead commemorate the kedoshim in their own ways. As it is, it’s not at all clear what Natan was told as a child the reason is, and how he feels he has meaningfully addressed it.

13. Maybe some new movies came out featuring Yishmael and Amraphel making brachos.

14. And for just a few extra bucks you can read exclusive material about some random school’s water bottle policies and gedolim’s trousers!