'Emunah' in Israel
We must help Israel to achieve a society which will be tolerant and positive and at the same time strongly Jewish
They are still writing love songs in Israel. I heard a beautiful one on the radio. “Love of you makes me whole”, sang a strong young voice. Young couples are still getting married, babies are being born. People are still living with the most hopeful and joyous events of life, events that call for commitment and faithfulness, love, marriage and parenthood.
And yet, we there is a feeling of malaise and insecurity. The country sometimes seems to be in a “spiritual slump”. The good news is that it does not stop love and family from continuing. The bad news is that it is a part of everyday reality. The major problem is that Israeli society has developed a lack of trust, a lack of simple faith in others.
We know, from our teacher Rabbi A. J. Heschel, among others, that “emunah” often understood as “belief”, really means “faithfulness” or “trust”. A society built on “emunah” is one which starts out trusting, and reacts to “bad faith” appropriately. The translation of “emunah” as the English “belief” is not exact. To see that word “emunah” means “trust” or “faithfulness” one can look at many Biblical verses in Hebrew, e.g. Gen. 42:20; Deut. 7:9; 32:4; Psalms 78:32; 78:37; 89:2; 89:3; 92:3; 93:5; 100:5, among many others. Indeed, in many of these verses the word “emunah” is applied to God. God is known not for “belief” but for “trust” and “faithfulness”. In short, if this characteristic breaks down there can be no healthy society.
Indeed, the main thrust of Yom Kippur is God’s faithfulness towards us. God will surely forgive our transgressions toward Him. Even though we know that some may not repent as sincerely as they should, it is a given, and it is such simple trust in His people Israel that produces the feeling of relief and community solidarity at the end of Yom Kippur. We are meant to carry that over with us into society on a regular basis. Without basic trust we cannot be happy, no matter how much materiel wealth we have. One of the lowest points of Israeli life is a constant pervasive feeling that “the other person is trying to put one over on me”. This is not only a feeling when it comes to dealing with the Palestinians, but, on the contrary, the feeling is pervasive and is there BEFORE the peace process.
On the one hand, this feeling of mistrust produces social awareness. No longer are military accidents merely “accepted”. No longer are people silent if they feel their children are being taken advantage of. Still, mistrust is a disturbing social phenomenon.
Ultimate spiritual challenge
What is a religious approach to address this phenomenon? My view is that the Masorti religious understanding of pluralism is an antidote to the lack of trust. Indeed, I think that the foremost feature of pluralism, the way we understand it, is that it is based on a sense of “emunah”, faithfulness, in the other. Jewish tradition includes the basis for a framework that enables us to develop and act with deep regard for the other’s religious traditions while being faithful to our own.Pluralism in Jewish tradition is NOT relativism, but comes from a “deeply held and aptly humble monotheism” since God desires pluralism (cf. Talmud Berachot 58a-b). "To achieve the ability to be pluralistic is, in fact, the ultimate ethical and spiritual challenge… Just as “love your neighbor as yourself” - which, for Rabbi Akiba, is the underlying principle of all the commandments - requires a person to go beyond biologically rooted self-love, pluralism requires a person to escape their egocentricity.” (cf. E. Dorff, in Toward a Theological Encounter, pp. 51-52)
Thus, pluralism, by this understanding can ONLY develop among those who are grounded in a particular tradition; I call this “responsible pluralism”. In a real sense the religious tradition which Masorti represents creates a strong sense of Jewish self, which is able to interact with others out of respect, even if not accepting their view. This is the normal day to day situation we need as the default. As it stands now the default is one of suspicion and rejection of the other just for holding different views.
Tolerant and positive
Shlomo Ben-Ami is quoted as saying that there are only a few ways to bring society together. One is war. This has been the main method in Israel for most of its history. Another is mystical religion, or a kind of extreme obedience to charismatic religious figures. Ben-Ami says that there must be another way, “a new civic ethos with some elements of Judaism.” (cf. Jerusalem Report, Sept. 18, 1997, 14-16) Judaism contains a civic ethos, and it is one which combines strong commitment to public welfare, individual worth, and dialogue with the other in society, which is an outcome of the first two.
Jewish history has NOT prepared us for the NEW challenge of living together in one society. Jewish communities have been singularly individualistic over the few thousand years of non-sovereignty. Now, suddenly we must overcome that past, and it is not easy.
But, one key approach that can help is the intrinsically Jewish approach of pluralism. I think that the main thrust must be that we must help Israel to achieve a society which will be tolerant and positive and at the same time strongly Jewish. That is a goal that is crucial to Israel’s strength and also crucial to the dynamism and vitality of Jewish religion.
Rabbi Michael Graetz, Rabbi Emeritus in the Masorti congregation 'Magen Avraham' in Omer, is one of the Founders of the Masorti Movement in Israel, its first director and past president of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel. He is past winner of the prestigious Simon Greenberg Award and past member of the Israel Law Committee.
