On Being a Jewish Philosopher

As I've been mentioning on my blog about Spinoza, I think some people may conflate my personal and philosophical beliefs and thoughts with the philosophers I research, assuming it's somehow all the same system of thought/belief. One aspect of this is becoming confused about my personal religious beliefs and experience and, I suppose, consequently what my account of philosophy of religion would look like, if I were to expound one.

In terms of religion, the philosophers I write about are superficially quite different, ranging from Spinoza who was Jewish, to Shepherd and Cavendish who were liberal-minded Christians to Hume and JS Mill who were on the agnostic/atheistic side. Well, the thing I and all these philosophers have in common is being rational, tolerant, freethinkers who keep philosophy clearly separate from religion, reject dogma, superstition and are critical of institutional religion, preferring religious beliefs or non-beliefs to be a personal, private matter. 

Even Shepherd was very open-minded and expanded her Christian horizons in trying to understand other denominations instead of being closed off in her own one branch of Christianity. She didn't promote Christianity in her treatises, very rarely referred to any Christianity (unless it was essential to an argument made by a different philosopher and she's assessing the strength of their argument). Furthermore, as a general principle, she explicitly stated she wanted to keep a sharp distinction between philosophy and theology. Whereas, for example, this is not true of other women philosophers I do not research, such as Astell, whose Christianity permeated everything she did from her criticism of Locke to her education for women. Her general ideas on the education of women had excellent, feminist points but, for me, her focus on Christianity was too fundamental to her eg education engendering, what she called, a truly Christian spirit in women and her school for girls was supported by a society whose purpose was to promote Christian knowledge. 

Another possible point of confusion could be that I find common ground between my Humanistic Judaism/agnosticism and other branches, especially Orthodox Judaism (Chabad Lubavitch movement, a type of Chasidism). 

How do I square the two? 

One, it fits in with my background/heritage, stemming from my Czech grandmother, whether it is their humour, Yiddish words or keeping a thoroughly kosher kitchen! 

Two, all Jews, irrespective of their affiliation or non-affiliation, are on the same Judaism airline because the Jewish people are one. (For the airline analogy, see my post.) For example, one main thing all Jews can agree on is Tikkun Olam, meaning: social action, social justice, tzedakah (Justice/charity) gemilut hasadim (acts of kindness), taking responsibility for improving and fixing the world. 

This oneness transcends the numerous branches of Judaism: 

Orthodox:

Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) includes various sects, can have very different attitudes and beliefs from other Orthodox branches. Ironically, the only official feminist movement that functions like a branch of Judaism is the Haredi Feminist movement. 

On the flip side, there is even a Haredi Burqa sect. 

Chasidic Judaism (within which there are various branches and sects). 

This includes Chabad who I think are liberal Chasidics. I have studied numerous courses with Chabad over the years, dating back to my BA in Philosophy days. I'm attracted to their academic rigour, extensive knowledge and I love the way Hebrew is second nature to them, dropping Hebrew words as they explain stuff. On the non-academic side, I've gone to their public events eg Chanukah and I find I identity with their Yiddishness, which reminds me of my granny. They are inclusive and fun. You can join in with their singing and dancing, they give you freebies like menorahs (I have a few of those! 🕎) and little colourful dreidels and you get fed kosher food! You say the relevant blessing over the food if you want to, if someone can't remember it, they help you! I love their music because it is very Eastern European in style, often combined with a very modern dance/pop music beat! 

That doesn't make me a full-blown Chasidic woman! That would be impossible. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate this branch of Judaism and identify with them more than any other: intellectually, culturally, historically, with their strong sense of Jewish identity and oneness of the Jewish people as well as with their upbeat, joyful, Jewish-positivity. 

Modern Orthodox - I've attended services and studied/attended lectures at two of these synagogues. 

New Age:

Open Orthodoxy - an attempt to combine Orthodoxy with inclusivity 

Jewish Renewal - it comprises of a mosaic of various strands, from Buddhist meditation elements to liberal Judaism, mystical Kabbalah and feminism topped off with ecstatic worship. 

I've been to Open Orthodox/Renewal pop up services led by an ordained Rabbi, conducted casually in a home 🏘️. But I didn't connect with it and found it too meditative. 

Kabbalah - various types of Jewish mysticism. Some scholars argue that Spinoza has elements of Kabbalah but that's not my view because certain aspects could fall into superstition. 

Progressive:

Conservative (USA), globally known as Masorti

Reform - I belonged to one of these. I attended services Friday and Saturday; all festivals; studied the Torah Parashah (completing an entire Torah year-long cycle), including Rabbinic commentary on it; reading the Torah and Siddur in Hebrew; learning Biblical Hebrew as a language; Leining; Rabbinic literature classes; and other courses/talks led by various Rabbis. I even learnt to put on tefillin, which made me think - wow! Spinoza did that every day and now I know what it feels like! I also belonged to their Community Choir for a while in which I learnt to sing Jewish liturgy, folk songs and other.

Reconstructionist Judaism

Liberal Judaism (UK) - I've come across Liberal Jewish Rabbis because there is a lot of exchange between them and Reform. 

Hiloni - secularist Jews (social category) 

Women of the Wall (progressive male and female feminists) and Original Women of the Wall (orthodox women feminists): Now two groups who fight for equality of worship at the Western Wall. I've been following them since my BA in Philosophy days and continue to follow the Original Women of the Wall on social media and through their email newsletters. I referred to them in my first paper presentation (on Spinoza) and in my Volume 1 book on Spinoza. 

Unaffiliated Jews 

Atheistic Jews 

Humanistic Judaism - which focuses on the cultural and historical aspects of Judaism, is fully inclusive, agnostic/atheistic, allows you to personalize your Judaism so if you want to do a more traditional Shabbat then you can but  you can also change the blessings into a more secular outlook with no mention of the name of God. 

And the list goes on. I can't cover it all so I've just taken the main branches and the ones I've come across myself. 

So I have extensive experience and knowledge of the spectrum of Judaism, all of which informs my research on Spinoza. It was both a personal journey as well as part of my informal Participant Observation methodology for Spinoza. This is a methodology I learnt about when studying Sociology and Psychology which I have cross-applied to Philosophy. However, the main difference is that the data I collected is only my own personal thoughts on my observations and study, not any data collecting on individuals. I stick to the ethical and privacy guidelines for research methodology in both Sociology and Psychology. 

Since I combine the Chabad Lubavitch Judaism with my Humanistic Judaism, I thought it would be handy to compile a list of main principles behind Humanistic Judaism. There are similarities and differences between the two. This helps when explaining:

My philosophical stance / outlook on religion

How my views are different from Spinoza yet at the same time, I can understand his general Jewish identity, culture and heritage (Sephardi background {Ladino language based on Spanish} and Ashkenazi education {Yiddish language}) and assess the extent of his Orthodoxy. 

Here's a list of philosophical principles underpinning Humanistic Judaism:

✅ Emphasises Jewish identity and Judaism as a culture, defining a Jew as one who identifies with the Jewish people and their culture, history and shares their future. There is a focus on preserving Jewish identity, heritage and doing so in a free, pluralistic world

✅ No dogma!

✅ Advocating Secularism (separation of religion from the state) 

✅ Religion as only one aspect of Judaism, alongside history and culture

✅ Judaism was created by the Jewish people and their Jewish experiences

✅ Scripture has been put together by humans and needs to be analysed within the context of archeology, biblical criticism, and Jewish history 

✅ Humans can shape their own lives without being reliant on a supernatural authority and don't believe in/pray for supernatural intervention

✅ Humans have the power to resolve human problems

✅ Moral code is a human code and relates to this world. Compassion, empathy and the consequences of our actions take precedence over interpretations of any preordained rules or commandments in scripture (only really relevant where there is a clear clash of principles). Basic ethical values include equality, honesty, integrity. 

✅ Customize and personalise your wording, celebrations and Jewish life. Learn and study Judaism (religious and non-religious aspects) as deeply as you wish and form your own opinions. 

✅ Freethinking 

✅ Human reason and responsibility is central. Any philosophy of life is also human-focused, together with a sensitivity to environmental concerns and animal welfare.

✅ Connection to the natural universe 

✅ Social justice is key

✅ Celebrate all Jewish holidays and customise them to the level and style of observance that suits you. The festivals are an important way of being at one with the wider Jewish community while commemorating and remembering shared Jewish history and culture 

✅ Having a joyous approach to Judaism and the Jewish community

✅ Radical inclusionist and anti-discrimationist by celebrating, having full equality for and being fully inclusive of:

LGBTQ+, non-conforming, women, multiracial, people of colour, people with learning or physical difficulties, interfaith, irrespective of marital status, intercultural, people of all heritages and backgrounds, and anyone who adopts Humanistic Judaism and those who have been marginalised in other branches of Judaism

✅ Remove obstacles to encourage full participation for all, and without any religious restrictions on how they choose to observe Judaism and lead a Jewish life

✅ Cherish Jewish culture, history, values, ethics, and the Hebrew language

✅ Study, learn about and talk about Jewish and world issues 

✅ Humanistic Jews can believe in G-d outright (although this is rarer); or be atheists; or be agnostics and/or ignostics. 

These latter two: 

agnosticism (G-d may or may not exist)

and ignosticism (the existence of G-d is a meaningless question because the definition/concept of G-d is inadequate)

are two distinct but compatible beliefs/stances that I hold. Within agnosticism, I'm an open agnostic (leaving it an open question whether we will ever know about the existence of G-d), although, rather like Hume, I always retain a healthy dose of doubt, since human reason is such that we cannot reach absolute certainty about anything, let alone finding necessary or sufficient rational or empirical (or emotional) evidence to justify a belief in G-d. I don't particularly lean strongly towards either theism or atheism within agnosticism, unlike agnostic atheists or agnostic theists. I prefer to suspend judgement and be an agnostic-agnostic, as it were!

I hesitate to use the word belief because it is too strong a word - it implies things I don't wish to and it inclines people to jump to particular conclusions that won't be correct. Maybe an example from my toddlerhood might help. I was around 2 1/2 to 3 years old: Over lunch with my mother at home I said 'God could be a green bottle.' She was very surprised but didn't show it. Luckily, I remember the conversation (one of my earliest memories) and also what I thought at the time. 

What do you think I meant by the statement: God could be a green bottle? I'll leave you all to think about it!