'This is an exciting time to be an Orthodox Jew'
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The return of ritual
We now have the tools to empirically prove why ritualistic Judaism is not only relevant and worthwhile, but also good for one's health and wellness.
One of the strengths of Judaism has always been that our religious leaders of each era have been able to successfully bridge our ancient tradition with the needs and the zeitgeist of their generation.
Maimonides, in the 1200’s for example, wrote his philosophical works in order to bridge Judaism with the intellectual trends of his time. The publication of the Kabbalistic magnum opus the Zohar in the 1300’s coincided with the popularity of Sufism and other forms of non-Jewish mysticism.
To be sure, this does not mean that they made substantial changes to the tradition, it means that rabbis of old were able to understand the intellectual currents of their contemporaries and thus show the relevancy of a timeless religion and Torah.
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This orientation has continued up until recently where some scholars have maintained that certain forms of Hasidism contain distinctively postmodern themes (see Loewenthal, 2013).
It can be argued that this trend of constantly reapplying our ancient tradition to the intellectual currents of the time is what has kept our religion alive, vibrant and relevant.
Both in reaction to the Enlightenment and to the Reform and Conservative movements this rich tradition of applying ancients Jewish ideas, practices and teachings to a contemporary mindset is being carried out less and less. Instead, we see a battening down of the hatches and a turning inwards to ignore the rest of the contemporary world.
The strategy of showing how Judaism is relevant to contemporary mores has always been seen as more effective than blocking outside thinking, even during times when information and knowledge was hard to come by. Today, with the ubiquitousness of knowledge in all its forms, trying to keep out "foreign ideas" is truly an exercise in futility.
The pointlessness of such a pursuit is even more severe given the fact that today, more that any time before, we are presented with the opportunity to not only show the relevance of Judaism from a theoretical and academic perspective but also from a practical standpoint.
We live in an era that values rituals that improve health and wellness. According to experts, the health and wellness market is set to nearly double and grow to one trillion dollars annually within the next four years in the United States alone.
In the middle ages Maimonides maintained that commandments in the Torah were designed to improve our lives (Guide for the Perplexed, 3:31). Based on evidence collected over the last ten years in the field of social science, specifically within the discipline of Positive Psychology, we now know that some of our rituals are good for our health.
The literature on mindfulness is one example. People who pray each day and learn Torah regularly are practicing a form of mindfulness and are thus reaping real health and wellness benefits.
One can hypothesize that the same is true for Shabbat, the laws of kosher, family purity and Yom Kippur to name a few. Science now has the tools to actually test and quantify the exact health and wellness benefits that can be gained from any given practice or ritual.
This is therefore an exciting time to be an Orthodox Jew. Whilst other factions of Judaism have long sworn off ritualistic Judaism as anachronistic, we have always argued that they are still applicable.
We now have the tools to actually empirically prove why ritualistic Judaism is not only relevant and worthwhile, but also the degree to which it is good for your health and wellness. All of this, in addition to the spiritual benefits the believer gains from following the will of God.
Doing this type of research is Torah study at its best and most compelling. To me it is no less important, holy or exciting than Maimonides authoring his philosophical work or Moshe DeLeon publishing the Zohar.
While the opportunity for deeper understanding of our tradition is making itself available to us, it would be advisable for us to start taking note.
Levi Brackman is founder of Purposes Inc and creator of a scientifically proven online purpose finding tool Next Stage Purpose . He is currently doing a PhD focused on learning how people can develop purpose and meaning in life. He is also a rabbi and best-selling author.
