(idea submitted and written by E.)
There comes a time in every Jewish Young Adult’s life in which science ultimately triumphs over religion. Usually this occurs about two years after a JYA makes a commitment to Judaism at a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Around this time JYAs start to experience the outside world, and spread their wings beyond the coddling of their Jewish Elders. They finally start thinking about what the Torah actually says and implies, only to find that some of the content seems dubious.
JYAs approach this denial in various forms. Some decide they will keep their denial to themselves. Other, bolder JYAs, will openly discuss their feelings of confusion from years of brainwashing. Still others take a more subtle approach. For example, look at the case of JYA “Ari”, from Atlanta. He grew up in an conservadox home, and his way of rebelling against the dark forces of his religious parents was to temporarily declare atheism. Rather than openly tell his parents, he waited for his mother to edit his college essay on Nietzsche, in which he discussed his newfound religious beliefs and his mother discovered an integral part of her son’s angst-ridden college identity.
No matter how deep one’s denial goes, most JYAs will ultimately come to the conclusion that although they do not believe in all of the Torah’s stories (because they are scientifically impossible), they still consider themselves a “cultural Jew” because they are characterized by other things aforementioned in this blog. Ultimately, when the JYA reaches adulthood and becomes less rebellious, they will subject their children to the same boring Sunday Schools, Jewish private schools, or youth groups, that they were forced to attend as a child. And thus the circle of rebelling against doctrine will begin again.
Interesting post, but problematic in several respects. Firstly, you make an important point: there are many aspects of the Torah that are problematic. I would have to agree with you, but I take my concerns a different direction. Many rabbis and Jewish scholars of renown have also found parts of the Torah to be problematic, but instead of rejecting it or just ignoring it they developed midrash and searched for deeper meaning to explore the issues brought up by the Torah. Furthermore, I should point out that the Torah is a little bit more complex than being “just a book”. When one considers the Torah as consisting of both the oral Torah and the written Torah, one realizes that in many ways the Torah is a dialogue between the Jewish people and their burgeoning understanding of HaShem. I would argue that rather than being static, this is a dynamic dialogue that continues to this very day.
The second aspect that is problematic is the notion that Jewish parents should send their children to the same Hebrew schools that they went to, despite their obvious failure to properly relate Judaism to the parents. Any Hebrew school that is unable to help children recognize, discuss and evaluate the parts of the Torah that are problematic is an ineffectual waste of money. As my rabbi once so eloquently put it, “Judaism provides answers to questions without obliterating the original questions.”
It is fine and even noble to question difficult parts of our tradition that are problematic. Abandoning our tradition, or perhaps even worse, blindly following it with out questioning, however, is not appropriate.
Jews have been arguing with G?d since Abraham tried to ameliorate the Sodom Incident. However, G?d seems largely not to notice. (Also, +1 Malachi.)
Maybe this is what Young REFORM JEWISH Adults like instead of the aforementioned. I come from a relatively secular community, and everyone believes that the Torah = Truth. Even though they may not be strictly observant, they do not denounce or question the authenticity of the Torah or Judaism. Sorry, but this is not an accurate portrayal of all Young Jewish Adults… perhaps in the Reform community, it would be more accepted.