Jewish Ritual on the Rise in America
As someone who was raised with very little religious tradition and, who as an adult has become something of a "ritual junkie, I’m completely fascinated by the subject of ritual. Especially Jewish ritual. So I was obviously very happy, when the other day I ran across, this piece on the subject over on the Jerusalem Post site. The article which is titled "From Torah yoga to Shoah scrolls" is a great piece that looks at how "new rituals" find their way into the Jewish tradition.
What I personally found most interesting is that the article points out how some of the things many of us consider to be "traditional" practices are actually relatively new innovations.
Here are a few snippets from the article to help illustrate what I’m saying.
Jews who say the Birkat Hamazon, or prayer after a meal, sing the first few lines to an upbeat melody recognizable to Jews all over the world.
It’s a well-established ritual that goes back…well, to when?
Not that far, actually.
This singsong way of saying the prayer was developed as a teaching device by Mordecai Kaplan, the early 20th century rabbi who became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. It was adopted by his students and gradually became widespread.
"People think it goes back to the time of Moses," quipped Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. "Once rituals are around for a while, we assume they have been around forever."
Jewish rituals, like those of any other culture, emerge at specific points to respond to needs and values that are constantly evolving.
And here is another great example of how "new rituals" can find their way into Judaism.
While it takes time for a new practice to become the norm, Ochs believes that it happens much faster than it used to, even in the Orthodox community, which traditionally has been viewed as the most reluctant to take on new practices. Bat mitzvah ceremonies, another Kaplan invention, are fairly well the norm today in Orthodox circles, as are rosh hodesh groups.
I personally find it very gratifying to read about how a tradition like the bat mitzvah, which was started by Mordecai M. Kaplan in the 1920s, managed to find its way into the Orthodox world. After all Kaplan was excommunicated as a heretic by the orthodox, yet some of his rituals have still managed to find their way back into that world and more importantly have been accepted by it. I mean even Chabad do bat mitzvah is now and that’s pretty amazing in my books because they tout themselves as Torah true and I’m pretty sure, they don’t think much of Kaplan or what he stood for.
As well as discussing the history of Jewish ritual innovation the article also touches on why North American Jews seem to be returning to ritual as a way of connecting to their sense of Jewish identity. According to the article there are a few reasons for this resurgence.
American Judaism is in a particularly fertile period today. New practices are cropping up with increasing speed in the synagogue and out in the world.
She attributes that growth to the influence of feminism and what she calls "democracy," or the notion that individuals have the right to develop their own ways of accessing the divine.
Sarna adds that the idea of ritual itself has been rehabilitated, as early 20th century anthropological disdain for rituals as a hallmark of primitive cultures slowly mellowed.
"Within a century, the idea of a ritual as something primitive that should be discarded by moderns has been transvalued into something that makes us human and should be celebrated," he explains.
I think this renewal of interest in ritual is good but I wonder if it isn’t something of a double edged sword. Don’t get me wrong, if the article is right about this re-engagement of ritual, that in my books is a healthy thing. However, is it possible that along with this new return to ritual we are running the risk of diluting the waters of historic tradition? I think it’s important to bring personal significance and meaning to ritual practice but not at the expense of our literacy and Fidelity to both tradition and Klal Yisrael.
I guess I’m just more comfortable with the idea of new rituals (at least at the public/communal level), if such rituals are conceived of and introduced in consultation with, if not under the guidance of a knowledgeable Jewish leadership. I’m not sure how safe it is to ignore or dismiss certain rituals because they "don’t feel good" only to replace them with other (new) rituals because they "feel good". I suppose that I feel it’s all right to introduce new rituals but only if when doing so, any potential (broader) consequences are taken into consideration.
I for one, feel it’s important to think seriously about whatever it is I’m doing Jewishly, in terms of its possible impacts not only personally but also on the rest of the tribe. More importantly as a Jew by Choice I wonder if playing around with new forms of ritual is not sometimes, just a copout and way of avoiding the hard work of building true Jewish literacy. Not that I feel this is necessarily always the case, rather I’m simply pointing out what I see as a potential downside to this new trend. However, I have been known to be a just, a little bit on the paranoid side!
Anyhow it’s a great article and despite my above mentioned concerns I view this resurgence as a potentially great thing.
If you read it let me what you think!
Hi Avi,
Interesting article. I think about the creation of new rituals along the same line you do I think; it’s great, so long as we don’t automatically abandon anything we don’t get the purpose for or think is old and outmoded. That’s how you end up going a long way from recognizable Judaism, and end up needing to spend years working back to the Mesorah, trying to remember it.
On the other hand, the Siddur was compiled over centuries, with new stuff added but nothing dropped, and so now a normal-size version is roughly the same size as the Trenton phone book. Not that this is bad…. we have quite a reservoir to choose from, and so adding new poetry and stuff can’t hurt.
But to me, there is still nothing better than bringing new meaning and deep kavannah to old traditions, like tefillin, chanting from a Torah scroll, and singing outside to welcome Shabbat.
Speaking of that, Shabbat Shalom!
Yair
I appreciate the rekindling of ritual, but I think that too often people don’t understand the historicity of the rituals and what their real meaning is, and it has the risk of making people just think that it’s more *stuff* we *have* to do, you know? A lot of people adopt ritual w/o really taking the time to delve into it. But for all those people, there are a few others who really take on the ritual and do justice and respect to the historical nature of such rituals!!!
Thanks for this, Avi!
I prefer to follow very traditional rituals, only those rituals within tradition exclude me because I’m a woman. So….what can I say? I want to see innovation within our rituals so that 1/2 of us aren’t automatically excluded. But, I also am not interested in seeing these rituals re-engineered as it were so that they are ‘more feminine’. I guess when it comes down to it, I just want to be allowed participation in what we already have, and leave open the possibility for change without openly advocating for change. Does that make sense? I have no clue!
Hi Yael,
I think it does make sense. I am not a huge fan of re-writing brachot, prayers, rituals, etc. Doing so assumes that every thought about rituals had by modern Jews is a new idea, and that Jews haven’t had a history of reconciling words and meanings with differing ideas and views.
But, Rashi’s daughters laid tefillin, women even in Orthodox communities are reading Torah, writing STaM, teaching in Modern Orthodox rabbinical programs, etc…. The times are a changin’!
kol tuv,
Yair
Yael,
I want to piggyback on what Yair said. Many of the mitzvot that women do not perform are because they are time-bound, but no where does anyone ever say they are FORBIDDEN from doing these things, merely that they are not required to. On that token, women thus never picked up many of the mitzvot.
Rashi’s daughters were really the first Jewish feminists
There’s also tales of the daughters of — I can’t remember now, but I think it was — a great king and scholar who laid tefillin. It is something people look upon with a cricked neck and a funny face because it was rare and still is.
You should read Maggie Anton’s “Rashi’s Daughter” books. Very interesting stuff
Chavi
There’s no way, really, to add or do away with religious ritual in a top-down manner. If rituals evolve, are innovated, or fall away altogether, its because the people as a whole have willed it so.
Believe me, neither Chabad nor any other Orthodox establishment would have, of themselves, sanctioned bat mitvahs if their own congregants hadn’t demanded it first. It is a direct result of the feminist movement, which first effected the larger culture and then seeped into even these most recondite segments of society.
Judaism is an old old religion. In the course of its history, it encompassed many articles of belief and ways to express them. Some, like the Essenes with their beliefs and ritual, are as dead as the dinosaur. And like the dinosaur, it was a natural process.
Judaism is a living organism that grows and changes and evolves on its own like any other living organism. There is no way to plan for or dictate that process.
Thanks for sharing the article. Sorry it took me so long to read it.
The one thing that really struck me was the portion early in the “article about the Birkat Hamazon and how Kaplan developed that so recently. Seriously, it suprised me. It suprises me because, like Yankel refers to, even in Chabad communities that tune is sung. How did this tune seep in? Is it possible that even the Lubavitchers recognized Kaplan’s belief:
“Judaism is an evolving religious civilization. While our dispersion throughout the world has resulted in some cultural differences, by and large we are united by a common religious civilization and must work toward transcending the differences which would divide us. Our common history is the source of our covenant and what motivates and “commands” us to live Jewishly.”
Is it possible that it was this belief system that even the orthodox communities recognized as having truth? Therefore adopting the tune in the spirit of transcending differences?
As far as my own feelings go? I love ritual! I connect far more through ritual than through texts or prayer. However, I do realize and embrace that along with each ritual there is a sacred prayer that entwines the two together. Whether it’s a prayer when burning a piece of challah dough, a prayer for toveling dishes, a prayer for lighting candles, a prayer for washing hands…I could go on and on. With each ritual prayer is included. I love this and recognize that in many ways, THIS is how I connect to my own Jewishness.
I just saw this article pop up on JTA. I didn’t realize that the article was written off the launching of religious studies professor Vanessa Ochs’ new book “Inventing Jewish Ritual.” I’m going to have to get that book … and add it to my collection of millions of books I need to read!!!
–Chavi
Hey Chaviva
I have seen the book sevral times and when I do I think to myself ” I really should buy this one, just on principle”. However each time I open it up it doesn’t grab me. I guess somewhere deep down inside, I just feel my energy is better spent, learning the Tradition that already exists.
Anyhow thats just me! If you do pick it up maybe you could do a review or something!
Shabbot Shalom!
But the traditions that already exist ARE in that book! They’re the traditions that were invented in the middle ages and more recently that we know as our daily practices. So much of the traditions and rituals we know today aren’t that old
Oy Vey, now I’m all mixed up. What book am I thinking of?
Sorry my bad!!!!!