It is actually anti-semitism which bonds secular Jews together more and more each day than the mythological events that the religious Jews rely on.
AJ--
I don't know; that seems a bit contrarian even for the Jews. If the myths don't bind us, why not just walk away? It hardly makes sense to identify as a Jew just because lots of people don't like Jews (unless one is a masochist). Surely, there's something else to hold on to?
> And if in 1000 years, it dies off because no one care anymore, I think it will be sad, but not tragic.
I don't know about that. If Judaism ended in my life time, I'd be upset.
But would you be devastated?
I was reading about the demise of the Bushmen culture in Africa. It's upsetting too. But no less than the demise of Judaism would be to me.
The world will certainly not miss our people should we deslove. An O-Jew in the O world who THINKS is placed outside the box. To many of us, acceptance in the community is of utmost importance. Intermarriage is what causes families to sit shiva for living children. Isn't that absurd? I am not a proponent of intermarriage- but it's not the end of the world. Even though I consider myself TRADITIONAL/FLEXIDOX I still and will always enjoy chulent, kugel, a Jewish melody & Jackie Mason. But that doesn't rule out Burger King or Peter Luger. (but never Red Lobster)
"But would you be devastated?
I was reading about the demise of the Bushmen culture in Africa. It's upsetting too. But no less than the demise of Judaism would be to me."
I don't know time will tell or maybe it won't after all this will be more deeply in the 21st century. I have a feeling that success in not having them intermarry would be because they would land up joining the drift to the right. Picture them at their weddings if things hadn't gone your way. Like your entering into an alternate universe. Save us all some cake and beam it through the internet. Also Mazal Tov for your kids in advance.
I live in New York and work in New York City. New York was originally settled by the Dutch. Have you ever wondered where all those Dutchmen went? Well, I'm one of them. My first New York ancestor came here from the Netherlands in 1638. Maybe I'm 5% Dutch. But I don't speak Dutch. I don't and never have belonged to the Reformed Church. Because I'm into genealogy, I just know I'm a little Dutch. That's the future of unaffiliated American Jews 200 years from now.
Ben: I think your approach is at least one way to enjoy Judaism/Jewishness, to make it non-threatening and something that people might actually want to stick with rather than overly onerous.
RG: It wouldn't really be an alternate universe -- after all it's a world I'm very familiar with. If they don't marry out it could be because of the drift to the right, or it could be the drift to the left, which is far smaller but certainly present.
JS: You might be right, but you haven't convinced me that there's any real loss.
If you believe that the Torah is God's revelation, then every human who does no believe is a terrible tragedy. On the other hand if the you consider the Bible to be the "Root of All Evil", along the lines of Richard Dawkins, then teaching Judaism to children is child abuse and should be illegal.
I'm also not sure that "Jewish culture", such as bagels and dancing the hora, is more worth preserving than old fashioned Dutch fireplaces and linen cabinets (the "kasse"), which can still rarely be found in the Hudson River Valley.
Of course, it's all black and white for you, isn't it? Could you even conceive of the possibility that a person (such as myself) could find value in the Torah despite not believing it to be divine? I don't think it's all good, but that doesn't mean I think it's worthless either.
Bagels and the hora are hardly defining points of Jewish culture. Bagels are Polish. The hora is Israeli. When I think of Jewish culture, I think of Shabbat, Chagim, and Chupa to name a few.
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