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By Dr. Bruce T. Marshall
March 13, 2011
Stories from the Jewish Tradition
The Jewish tradition is often conveyed in stories. This morning I
have three such stories to share.
A great rabbi spent years in solitude meditating on the mystery of
the divine in all things. When he finally returned to live among men
and women, his eyes shone with the beauty of what he discovered.
Many seekers came to him to ask for his truth, yet he was always
reluctant to answer them, to put it into words. Pressed for years he
finally relented and with eloquent words gave a feeble approximation
of what he had discovered.
The seekers took these words with them everywhere. They spoke them,
wrote them, created sacred texts about them, and religious societies
were formed of those who repeated them, until no one remembered that
the words were really about an experience. As his words spread, the
rabbi became disheartened. “I had hoped to help,” he said, “but
perhaps I should not have spoken at all.”
● ● ●
One day a rabbi, in a frenzy of religious passion rushed in before
the ark, fell to his knees, and started beating his breast, crying,
“I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The cantor of the synagogue, impressed by this example of spiritual
humility, joined the rabbi on his knees. “I’m nobody! I’m nobody!”
The custodian, watching from the corner, couldn’t restrain himself
either. He joined the other two on his knees, calling out, “I’m
nobody! I’m nobody!”
The canter nudged the rabbi with his elbow, pointed at the custodian
and said, “Look who thinks he’s nobody!”
● ● ●
Two disciples of an old rabbi were arguing about the true path to
God. One said that the path was built on effort and energy. “You
must give yourself totally and fully with all your effort to follow
the way of the Law. To pray, to pay attention, to live rightly.” The
second disciple disagreed. “It is not effort at all. That is only
based on ego. It is surrender. To follow the way to God, to awaken,
is to let go of all things and live the teaching, “Not my will but
thine.”
As they could not agree on who was right they went to see the
master. He listened as the first disciple praised the path of
wholehearted effort, and when asked by this disciple, “Is this the
true path?” the master said, “You’re right.” The second disciple was
upset and stated eloquently the path of surrender and letting go.
When he had finished he said, “Is this not the true path?” and the
master replied, “You’re right.”
A third student was present, and he was perplexed. “But master,” he
said, “they can’t both be right.” And the master replied, “You’re
right too!”
Sermon
This morning we conclude the series about options in Unitarian
Universalist belief that we began in January—seems like a long time
ago. Today we’ll consider Judaism—both conflicts and common themes
in Judaism and Unitarian Universalism.
Many people of Jewish heritage find a religious home in Unitarian
Universalism. I remember when I served a UU congregation in
Huntington, New York, the local rabbi who was retiring and perhaps a
little cynical made the remark, “All the Jews are over at the
Unitarian fellowship.”
And yet, it can be hard for a Jew to feel completely at home in
Unitarian Universalism. For though Unitarian Universalists are often
not Christian in belief, still, our origins are in Christianity. The
forms, the vocabulary, the culture all betray our roots.
Our order of worship is related to that found in Protestant
churches. Many of our hymns are UU words set to melodies used for
Christian hymns, although that has been changing. The architecture
of many of our older buildings draw upon our New England Protestant
heritage. And then there is the name, church. Though there is debate
as to the meaning of the term, common usage today considers “church”
to be a Christian organization, not a generic term for a
congregation.
There is also our style, our culture. According to a book called
American Mainline Religions, there is no purer representation of
WASP culture than your local UU congregation. I don’t think that’s
true here at Davies, but overall it’s pretty accurate. There is our
emphasis on self control, on independence, on reason, on staying a
little detached as well as a certain sedateness of emotional
style—all very WASPy.
So people of Jewish background can feel a little uncomfortable
walking into a Unitarian Universalist congregation. For example, I
am married to a very nice Jewish girl who is completely supportive
of what I do and what we do here at Davies. She grew up in a secular
Jewish home with little involvement in formal Judaism. But there are
still times when it feels a awkward to find herself in church and,
worse than that, married to a minister. She imagines that her
ancestors must be twirling in their graves.
● ● ●
Why would those ancestors be twirling? Well, there are reasons.
For one, there is the terrible history of virulent persecution of
Jews by Christians—a history not that far removed from our own time.
In the 1930s, American Nazis mounted large anti-Jewish marches in
New York City. In the 50s and the 60s, some residential
neighborhoods in this country, private schools, hotels, and resort
communities still excluded Jews. Even today Jewish children can find
themselves the target of abuse. Our neighbor in Silver Spring, a man
considerably younger than I, remembers being taunted as a child in
Kansas City as a Christ-killer. And there is the persistent question
of why, during World War II, the Allies didn’t bomb the
concentration camps, or at least the supply lines. We must have
known they were there. Persecution of Jews by Christians has been
vicious and persistent—and often reappears after long periods of
apparent peace and amity. That history, itself, may make it
difficult for a Jew to commit himself or herself to any organization
with even the loosest of ties to Christianity.
There also is a difference of religious identity—a different way of
understanding what a religious community is. In Christianity, choice
is essential: you choose your faith. Even if you have been born into
it, you make a choice to either remain with the religion of your
birth or go in other directions. So it makes perfect sense to say,
for example, I was raised a Roman Catholic and then I became a
Methodist, and now I am a Unitarian Universalist.
It doesn’t make as much sense to say, “I was born a Jew, but then I
became a Unitarian Universalist.” What people of Jewish heritage are
more likely to say is, “I am a Jew. I find my religious home in this
Unitarian Universalist congregation.” The difference, as I
understand it, is that Jews are a people, not a community of belief
but a people. That’s what defines the identity, not what Jews
believe but their heritage as a people with a shared history.
Christianity, no matter what the variety, involves a system of
belief which one chooses to accept or not accept. There are some
people who choose to convert and become Jews, but that’s the
exception. By and large, you are born a Jew. It’s part of your
identity, part of who you are, no matter what you might happen to
believe, no matter where you find your religious home, no matter
whether you consider yourself religious or not. You’re still a Jew.
One more area of difference: the matter of culture or folkways. The
culture of Judaism and the culture of Unitarian Universalism can
sometimes be different. In a book on interfaith marriages, the story
is told of the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (that is, WASP) wife,
married to a Jewish man, who carefully prepared her first meal for
her new in-laws. Afterwards, she proudly noted that she had planned
everything just right: there was enough food to go around without a
scrap of waste. Her husband, however, was humiliated. “What were you
trying to do—starve us? Do you want my parents to think I don't make
enough money to feed you right?”
When it comes to food, WASP culture values frugality, having just
enough, not overdoing. Jewish culture aims toward abundance, making
sure that there’s plenty. It’s impolite in WASP culture to urge your
guests to eat more and more. It’s impolite in Jewish culture to
refuse seconds and thirds. Let me offer a personal example. Last
summer Amy and I hosted the Davies board for an informal supper at
our home. We decided to have brownies for dessert. So far so good.
As a Midwesterner, raised in WASPy Unitarian culture, I thought a
single recipe would be fine. So we run a little short at the end?
Our guests will appreciate the moderation involved in a limited
desert.
My Jewish wife, however, would not hear of it. “What if we run out?
What if people leave hungry?” So she made a second batch. Long story
short: by the end of the evening, we weren’t even close to finishing
the first batch of brownies. The second batch? Well, remember my
Midwestern WASPy frugality. You don’t throw food away. Those
brownies leftover from last July are still in the freezer. (Let me
reassure anyone who might be considering purchasing our Sloppy Joe
supper in the services auction, that Amy will not let me defrost
those brownies and pawn them off as new—though I probably would be
fine with that.)
Hence, the clash of cultures. To the extent that Unitarian
Universalist congregations reflect White Anglo Saxon Protestant
culture and values, those from outside that tradition might find
themselves uncomfortable in our midst without being able to say
exactly why.
● ● ●
And yet, there are also many areas of similarity between Judaism and
Unitarian-Universalism. There are some areas in which we are
different but others in which we are remarkably alike—and certainly
closer to each other than either is to orthodox Christianity.
Theologically, Jews are small “u” unitarians, believing in one God.
Consider this passage, from the New Testament: “One of the scribes
came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that
(Jesus) answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the
first of all?’
“Jesus answered, ‘The first is, ‘Hear O Israel: the Lord our God,
the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all
your strength.’
“The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.’
“And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, teacher; you have truly
said that God is one, and there is no other but he.’”
That episode is recorded in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of
Mark. When Jesus is asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” he
responds, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Since
Jesus was a practicing Jew, it is not surprising that he so
responded for those words constitute the Shema, the most basic
prayer in Judaism.
Jews and Unitarians share a common heritage of monotheism. Both look
to a single source of being that infuses all of life. A parable from
the Talmud tells us that once a heathen asked Rabbi Joshua, “Why did
God speak to Moses from a thornbush?” Rabbi Joshua replied, “If he
had spoken from a carob tree or from a sycamore, you would have
asked me the same question, but so not to dismiss you without an
answer, God spoke to Moses from the thorn bush to teach us that
there is no place where his presence is not found, not even in a
thorn bush.
In Judaism, the force that gives us life is understood as expressed
throughout all of being—not just in a religious structure, not just
in a liturgy, not just in a creed. Both Jews and Unitarian
Universalists find the holy in the ordinary as well as in the
extraordinary, in the home as well as in the church or the temple,
in the process of creation and discovery as well as in statements of
belief or affirmation. Judaism is non-creedal for the same reason
that Unitarian Universalism is non-creedal: human creeds cannot
claim to capture the mystery that underlies our being.
Today, most Jews have an understanding of God that is quite
different from that of the tribal God of the Old Testament. While
other Jews reject the concept of God altogether. And so it is
sometimes said that a Jew is a person who believes in one God—at
most.
The same crack is made about Unitarian Universalists.
● ● ●
A second theme shared by Judaism and Unitarian Universalism.
When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment—in that
section I've already quoted from the Gospel of Mark—he not only
affirmed the unity of God, he also stated that, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
This affirmation, so important to Christianity, was by not original
with Jesus. He was citing a teaching from the Jewish tradition.
The story is told that a heathen came to Rabbi Schammai with a
request: “Accept me as a convert on the condition that you teach me
the whole law while I stand on one foot.” Rabbi Schammai drove him
off.
So the heathen went to another rabbi, Rabbi Hillel, and repeated the
same request: “Accept me as a convert on the condition that you
teach me the whole law while I stand on one foot.” Rabbi Hillel
received him as a convert and said, “What is hurtful to thee, do not
do to thy neighbor. That is the whole law and all the rest is
commentary. Now, go forth and learn.”
Judaism contains a strong ethical and humanistic emphasis, as does
Unitarian Universalism. One serves God—one serves the highest—by
helping one's neighbor, no matter who that neighbor may be. The
ancient rabbis taught that, “We are required to feed the poor of the
gentile as well as our Jewish brethren...” And no one is exempt from
this obligation—even one who receives charity is obligated to give
to others who are in need. The goal of life is not to prepare for
one's personal salvation in an afterlife. The goal is to serve God
by living ethically and humanely in this life.
That doesn't sound much different from Unitarian Universalism.
● ● ●
A third commonality: Unitarian Universalists do not claim a single
prophet or founder. We can point to no one comparable to Jesus in
Christianity or Buddha in Buddhism or Mohammed in Islam. We draw
from the wisdom of many teachers and the words of many prophets,
each of whom has something to offer us on our search for truth and
right.
People of other religious traditions—especially orthodox
Christianity—may find that hopelessly vague.
Yet, look at Judaism. Again, there is no single prophet or founder.
Judaism has developed through a series of prophets and teachers:
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, Joshua, among many
others. Each had something to offer, each contributed to the
tradition and the faith. That process continues today. Each
generation produces its rabbis, its teachers, is prophets, its wise
people who continue to point the way.
For in Judaism belief is not static. It is always in
process—changing, evolving, incorporating new knowledge,
articulating new truths. Christianity—especially orthodox
Christianity—is more static. It insists that there is a central
“Truth” that is timeless and unchanging. But in Judaism, truth is
discovered and created through studying and learning and sharing
life with each other. Truth never stands still.
Religion, then, is not a matter of adapting to a final revelation of
truth. It is an ongoing process—both for Jews and for
Unitarian-Universalists.
Hence, three themes common to Judaism and Unitarian-Universalism.
1. Monotheism: the affirmation of one creating and sustaining spirit
that is expressed throughout all of life. The belief in one God, at
most.
2. An ethical and humanistic emphasis. What matters is how we live
and how we help each other. One serves God by helping one's
neighbor.
3. Seeing religion not as a response to a final revelation or the
teachings of a single prophet but as an ongoing process of seeking
and learning.
● ● ●
Let me develop that third theme a little further by considering the
Jewish holy book, the Talmud.
There are three basic texts in Judaism. One is the Torah: the first
five books of the Bible. The second is made up of the Hebrew
scriptures—known in Christianity as the Old Testament. The third is
the Talmud, which is a massive compilation of law and commentary.
The word, “talmud,” means study or learning. The text itself
includes some 3 million words, and represents the contributions of
2,000 authors. It was compiled between the years 200 B.C. and 500
A.D., but it is a repository of thousands of years of Jewish wisdom,
anecdotes, aphorisms, debates, dialogues, commentaries and
treatises.
The Talmud is unique among sacred texts in that its primary call is
not that you believe. It demands, rather, that you study, that you
seek to understand. As you study the Talmud, you are not only
permitted to doubt, you are encouraged to doubt. For it is only
through questioning that you learn and that you ultimately find
wisdom.
Doctrine, belief, creed are not essential in Judaism. What's
important is knowledge, understanding, seeking. Even if your
questioning leads you to question the Talmud. Even if your
questioning leads you to disagree with a fellow Jew. There is an old
saying, “Wherever there are two Jews, there are three opinions.”
That also could be said about Unitarian Universalists.
Seeking, discovery, questioning, doubting: all are encouraged in the
Jewish tradition. A very long time ago there was a dispute between
the followers of two great rabbis: Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Schammai.
For over two centuries representatives of both sides argued and
debated with the other. Gradually, the followers of Rabbi Hillel
prevailed. But then an interesting thing occurred. The teachings of
Rabbi Schammai were not banished from Judaism. Instead, it was
resolved that both the words of Hillel and those of Schammai were of
the living God. Hillel prevailed, but both were considered valid.
Contrast this with doctrinal controversy in Christianity. Christian
belief was hammered out over the centuries by a series of councils.
These councils would get together, debate, and then take votes on
matters of dogma and right belief. The losing sides of those votes
(that is, the minority opinions) were not recorded. They were erased
from the records. Once a particular dogma was accepted, any other
view was considered heresy, a crime. Those who continued to promote
those beliefs could be punished by imprisonment or sometimes burning
at the stake.
Early Unitarians lost the votes at the councils determining
Christian orthodoxy and often ended up being persecuted. And so
Unitarianism has developed with a respect for the rights of those
who question and dissent. We have affirmed the diversity of belief
that results when people are so encouraged. In this, we are more
similar to the Jewish tradition than we are to Christianity.
● ● ●
So. Can one be a Unitarian Universalist and a Jew? Well, there can
be times of uneasiness for Unitarian Universalism and Judaism have
different histories, symbols, styles, cultures. And yet, when it
comes to basic approaches to spirituality—and to life—the areas of
similarity outweigh the differences.
Let me conclude with two observations from the Jewish tradition that
very easily could be Unitarian Universalist.
First, commentaries in Christianity usually end with the same point:
you must believe. That’s the point of many of the stories and
teachings and the billboards we encounter from the Christian
tradition: believe. That is not the case in Judaism. A great scholar
of the Talmud always ended his commentary with this instruction.
“Continue to study this matter.” That is, what anyone says here and
now might change as we continue to search and learn.
Second. There is a story from the Talmud about a rabbi who I think
was named Zucea. Rabbi Zucea once said, “In the coming world, they
will not ask me, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ No, said Rabbi Zucea, “In
the coming world, they will ask me, ‘Why were you not Zucea?’”
The call to study, to learn. The call to be who we are, who we can
be. Guidelines for living from the Jewish tradition that apply to
Unitarian Universalists, whether we happen to also be Jews or not.
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