Religious Arrogance

[debka_notion]

Friday night I was at shul with Mom and the grandparents, at the shul I grew up at- a Reform shul, the sort that's moved to a lot more traditionally Jewish position between when my father was growing up there and even when I got there- when he was a kid, people used to jokingly call it "the church on the hill". And it was not the sort of service I prefer- it never is. But I had a very hard time not getting all arrogant about how much more serious I am about the texts, and how the tune they chose for Lecha Dodi (a traditional mystical text/song sung on Friday night, welcoming Shabbat as the Sabbath Bride) sounded terribly Christian, etc. I went knowing that this wouldn't be an ideal service for me, but that this was the way I was raised- in the right mood, there is plenty to find in the service that is spiritually meaningful. If nothing else, all the English readings that I find pretty tacky and nowhere near as powerful as the Hebrew, or even as a stark translation of the Hebrew text would be, are all sort of nostalgic for me. And yet- I had a very hard time beating down the religious arrogance. What gives me the right to decide that my way is better than theirs, or that I'm really doing better than they are? And yet, it's such an easy fault to fall into. The same thing happens when Mom asks me to check out a song they're thinking about singing, when the text is unfamiliar, and the translation given turns out to be the sort that keeps difficult Hebrew and just chooses not to translate it. It's hard not to get a prideful boost, and to feel superior that not only can I read the text, but that I can integrate it into a meaningful worship experience for myself, and they don't. It isn't something I like about myself, but I'm not sure how to go about changing it.

Comments

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

Tolerance is a good thing, but you are entitled to your opinions. Would you feel so bad for silently disagreeing with your family's political beliefs?

[fleurdelis28.livejournal.com]

I think what she's getting at may be that there's a difference between silently disagreeing and silently finding one's self thinking, "Oh, these poor ignorant people." Which is entirely too easy in some circumstances where it is not warranted, and generally not productive, as far as I've found, even in the circumstances where one could argue it is.

[fleurdelis28.livejournal.com]

What does it mean that a melody sounds "terribly Christian", and at what point does that become a problem? I recall reading about some Chassidic group that borrowed one of their melodies from a hymn sung at the Tsar's funeral...

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

It just sort of said "this isn't a Jewish tune", which doesn't make a lot of logical sense, considering how some things that really aren't Jewish tunes, or aren't even genres of music I'd heard as a kid still register as Jewish. This tune was sort of slow, major key, lack of ornamentation or good places for it... But what made it seem not-Jewish? I don't know. I think the idea is that while Jews seem to steal melodies from everywhere, usually the rhythm-scheme imposed by the words or the varieties or ornamentation make it sound "more Jewish". This tune didn't have those advantages, somehow...

Religious Arrogance

[(Anonymous)]

This is an issue of ego. I know because I struggle with it. I think part of the solution lies in seeing people's intention behind what they are doing and not necessarily the form in which it is done. I heard a story once about Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz where someone had asked him how it was he could teach in non-Orthodox settings. He said that he didn't worry about the exteriors of people so much as he focused on their essence. Even better is not to focus on other people and focus on what you are there to do: get closer to G-d. Let others do it, or not do it, in whatever way they choose. You can make this part of your Elul-tshuvah work; working on not being judgemental and focusing on your ability to connect with G-d in these situations.
~Jason servgodnjoy@yahoo.com

Re: Religious Arrogance

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

I would disagree with Jason about it being a matter of ego. I find that this pattern is rather common among ba'alei t'shuva. There are varying reasons for this, which occasionally includes the rejection of prior beliefs because they conflict with the new ones. In other cases, while one can recognize that everyone serves Hashem in his/her own way, that is not pertinent to the degree of knowledge had by said individuals. One can hold the ignorant in great respect while still thinking them ignorant. Likewise for those who are undeveloped in certain areas. The master artisan respects the fledgling apprentice as a person, and even as one who is driven to learn the craft, yet still see the apprentice as a relative ignoramus in that particular area.

E=mc^2

The Vortex