{"id":416,"date":"2012-02-02T23:37:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-02T23:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/02\/jewish-values-left-wing-right-wing-everything-in-between.html"},"modified":"2012-02-02T23:37:00","modified_gmt":"2012-02-02T23:37:00","slug":"jewish-values-left-wing-right-wing-everything-in-between","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/02\/jewish-values-left-wing-right-wing-everything-in-between.html","title":{"rendered":"Jewish Values: Left-Wing, Right-Wing & Everything In Between"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

One of the most interesting Jewish writers around these days is Jay Michaelson.\u00a0 His regular columns in \u201cThe Forward\u201d are always provocative even when \u2013 perhaps especially when \u2013 I disagree with him.\u00a0 This week he\u2019s written an important column<\/a> in which he lays out something that too few politically liberal Jews understand:<\/p>\n

Well-meaning Jewish liberals\u2026speak innocently of \u201cliving out Jewish values\u201d in the pursuit of liberal politics, as if ignorant that our political opponents think they are doing the same thing. Without more articulation, to say we are applying our Jewish values to issues of social justice or human rights is just a sound bite. The other side can say the same thing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, the other side says the same thing all the time.\u00a0 And the other side is just as entitled to do so:<\/p>\n

But what is the criterion by which the \u201creal\u201d is to be determined? Is the (right-wing, dominance-obsessed) Book of Joshua any less real than the more peaceful teachings of Isaiah? Are the Torah\u2019s stringent death penalties less real than the talmudic rabbis\u2019 ameliorations of them? Once again, without more articulation, this is just public relations\u2026.\u201cJewish\u201d includes too wide a range to let any political ideology claim its mantle, and we have to be sophisticated and clear-eyed in our relationships with a complicated tradition that has as many sexist, ethnocentric, superstitious, nationalistic and cruel aspects as it does egalitarian, just, compassionate and uplifting ones. What is \u201cJewish\u201d is not necessarily what is right or good. How could it be, since Judaism often espouses diametrically opposed views of the same issue?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I seem to be surrounded by conservative (little \u201cc\u201d) Jews.\u00a0 Some of them are good friends.\u00a0 I think they\u2019re more willing to open up to me because I\u2019m an independent, although I\u2019m definitely more left of center on most issues.\u00a0 And Michaelson is 100% correct.\u00a0 Republican Jews honestly \u2013 and rightly \u2013 believe that they\u2019re carrying out Jewish values just as Democratic Jews rightly believe the same thing.<\/p>\n

As a Secular Humanistic Jew, I never look to Jewish tradition to find my values.\u00a0 I think this makes it easier for me to realize that one can articulate almost any political position and argue that it\u2019s Jewishly kosher.\u00a0 Humanists prefer to look elsewhere for universal values, even if we do feel very comfortable using any available Jewish texts or traditions to articulate them.\u00a0 We try to do so honestly while acknowledging that the same Torah that argues for the care of widows and orphans<\/a> also calls for the murder of little children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michaelson develops his argument well and I highly recommend reading the entire column.\u00a0 He closes with this:<\/p>\n

Judaism is not the answer key; it\u2019s the question key. It sets the stage for the important questions to be asked, but accommodates contradictory answers to them. Thus, rather than inquire as to whether liberals or conservatives are \u201creally Jewish,\u201d we are invited to more interesting explorations. Like which ideology promotes a healthy Jewish people, a saner world, a safer world, or more compassion. Or which ideology leads to more holiness, more connection and more truthfulness with the experiences of all people. These are not the only Jewish values in existence. But they are the ones worth keeping.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Leaving aside my discomfort with \u201choliness,\u201d he is quite right.\u00a0 I would only add that the historical experience of the Jewish people (the real one, not the mythologized version) is also a vital source of questions.\u00a0 Those are the ones that led me to becoming an atheist rabbi.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting Jewish writers around these days is Jay Michaelson.\u00a0 His regular columns in \u201cThe Forward\u201d are always provocative even when \u2013 perhaps especially when \u2013 I disagree with him.\u00a0 This week he\u2019s written an important column in which he lays out something that too few politically liberal Jews understand: Well-meaning Jewish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,17,24,33,39],"class_list":["post-416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-bible","tag-humanism","tag-liberal-judaism","tag-politics","tag-secular-humanistic-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nJewish Values: Left-Wing, Right-Wing & Everything In Between<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the most interesting Jewish writers around these days is Jay Michaelson.\u00a0 His regular columns in \u201cThe Forward\u201d are always provocative even when -\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/02\/jewish-values-left-wing-right-wing-everything-in-between.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jewish Values: Left-Wing, Right-Wing & Everything In Between\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the most interesting Jewish writers around these days is Jay Michaelson.\u00a0 His regular columns in \u201cThe Forward\u201d are always provocative even when -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/02\/jewish-values-left-wing-right-wing-everything-in-between.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-02T23:37:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. 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