I OPINION

A Secular-Humanist Looks
t Tradition And Authenticity

JULIUS J. HARWOOD

T

radition (to paraphrase
Milan Kundera's defin-
ition of art) is the
truggle of memory against
rgetting. It is easy to under-
stand, then, the importance
nd prominence of zachor,
remembrance, in Jewish
tradition and Jewish life.
The most solemn Jewish
aditional practice of Yizkor
(the memorial service for the
ead) and the more contem-
porary Israeli "Yom
Hazikaron" (remembrance
day for the fallen in the
defense of the Jewish state)
oth stem from the Hebrew
word zachor.
The message is clear and
vivid. Do not forget your roots
nor your past; remember your
family, your people and your
history. Tradition thereby
ecomes a potent educational
tool. Through its exercise and
ractice we reteach our
history and our vlaues.
Confronting tradition has
been a major past source of
tension in the secular world.
Recognizing that most of
mainstream Jewish tradition
ems from the religious
underpinnings which
aracterized millennia of
Jewish life and experience, in-
evitably conflicts and an-
tagonisms arose about the
adoption of words, rituals,
•ractices, holidays and the
ike which made up past
ewish life and identity.
The more contemporary
face of Secular-Humanistic
Judaism presents a mature
respect for the idea of Jewish
tradition, not as a divinely
• ven law nor an Orthodox
authoritative standard of
cultural lifestyles, but as a
historic reservoir of rituals,
customs, holidays and
ceremonies which enriched
and gave a personality to
Jewish life.
The credo of Secular-Hu-
anistic Judaism asserts an
acceptance of Jewish history
as part of our heritage. Accep-
tance not as an automatic
validation of past beliefs,
practices and interpretations,
but as a recognition of their

Julius Harwood is a member
of the Birmingham Temple
and a founding member and
immediate past chairman of
the Michigan Coalition of
Secular-Humanistic Jews.
This is adapted from an
article to be published in the
fall in "Humanistic
Judaism."

evolution as a product of the
times and experiences of the
Jewish people.
Mordecai Kaplan captured
this when he wrote that
Judaism is a continuously
evolving civilization of the
Jewish people. Secular-
Humanistic Judaism as a pro-
duct of enlightenment, reason
and the scientific method
adds to and enriches our past
history with new insights and
experiences of modern, con-
temporary thought, lifestyles
and culture.
Our Jewish world, as with
all other (Western) cultures
impacted by the age of reason
and science, is manifestly
characterized by pluralistic
lifestyles and belief systems.
In such a healthy environ-
ment, to celebrate tradition,
regardless of its historical
sources, is not to reaffirm a
particular set of practices or

Jewish tradition
has never been
stagnant nor
static.

customs, but to provide a con-
tinuity with our past.
Yiddishists called this die
goldene chait — the golden
chain of Jewish peoplehood
and continuity. Developing
new modes of expressing old
traditions and evolving new
traditions relevant to today
reflect the exercise of Secular-
Humanists to know ourselves
and our identity in a free,
enlightened society. For us,
tradition provides the in-
tersection between human-
ism as a general philosophy of
life and values and Secular-
Humanistic Judaism as a liv-
ing ethnic experience and
identity as a people not
burdened by theology.

Commitment to modern
values does not require an
either/or break with Jewish
identity or Jewish tradition.
We can understand the
historical integrity of
Judaism — we don't have to
walk away from it. But it is no
longer tenable to claim that
the past remains as the only
criterion and source of
authentic Judaism.
In a pluralistic society, no
one has a monopoly on
authenticity There can be no
single authentic mode or life-
style. It is the character of
pluralism that all modes can
have authentic qualities
within their existential time
frame.

It is illuminating, therefore,
to note the degree of ferment
and questioning that is tak-
ing place within Jewish non-
Orthodox denominational
movements. For example, in
the recent work Seek My Face,
Speak My Name, Rabbi Ar-
thur Green attempts to
reconstruct Reconstructionist
ideology. He writes that
authenticity is not found in
the literalism of a Ibrah given
at Sinai (scriptural literalism)
but in keeping "faith with the
life experience of the Jewish
people at each moment in
their history!'
Inadvertently he captures
the thesis of Secular-
Humanistic Judaism.
Tradition then becomes
forms of human expression or
ways of acting that feel right
and worthwhile. This
rightness is the expression of
the values we choose. It
makes a profound statement
about who we are and our
identity as Jews.
Through the commodity of
tradition, Secular-Humanis-
tic Jews articulate a view of
Judaism and Jewishness
which balances the freedom
of modern society with the
sense of commitment to our
people and our past.
Bushtel and Graubard have
recently published a survey of
the diverse elements and life-
styles characterizing the
Jewish scene in America, en-
titled "Saving Remnants:
Feeling Jewish in America!'
They conclude from their data
that a universal theme in
American Jewish life is the
acceptance that individuals
must now rely on their own
inner resources and resolve in
their own way the fundamen-
tal issue of what is authentic
in Judaism.
In a society based on in-
dividual choice, the past
determinants that une-
quivocally characterized
Jewish identity are being
undermined and replaced by
more modern viewpoints.
The question of importance,
then, is how to measure or
identify authenticity. Is
authenticity to be a never-
changing Jewish constant? It
seems to me that a legitimate
test of authenticity is sur-
vival — the capability of idea
systems, traditions and folk-
ways to survive by adapting
to changing environments of
cultural and social realities.
It is certainly true that
much of classical Jewish
religious thought and tradi-
tion has survived over long
periods of time. For large

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numbers of Jews these repre-
sent mainstream lifestyles.
But it is equally true for
equally large numbers that
such historic traditional prac-
tices no longer ring true or
appear relevant and consis-
tent with this world of today.
Jewish tradition has truly
never been stagnant nor
static — and new and mean-
ingful traditions are emerg-
ing and being practiced which
carry the same stamp of
validity and legitimacy as
their antecedents.

Secular-Humanism is an
almost exclusive product of
the 20th century. Our values
uniquely are products of
human experience and
reason. It is still too soon to
label now which of the
creative practices and forms
of commitment will endure.
But there can be no doubt
that as each new generation
reshapes Jewish practices,
celebrations and customs, we
enrich Jewish life and tradi-
tion. These make new
demands on the way we think
and live. Future generations
will evaluate their authen-
ticity for their worlds and
realities.
Passover, perhaps the most
important holiday in the
Jewish calendar, symbolizes
how past and present can be
joined to tell its fundamental
message. The message of
freedom and of hope. "We

mote.

were slaves and we were
liberated!'
At the seder it has become
traditional to introduce non-
traditional practices and
readings to relate its message
and reinforce its relevance to
today's issues and struggles.
The availability of numerous
Haggadot, translations, inter-
pretations and readings all
serve to make the message of
Passover echo its meaning for
us today. No questions remain
unanswered and no answers
remain unquestioned as part
of the ancient charge to tell
and retell the message of
freedom, as if it were being
reenacted as today's
experience.
Passover tells us that it is
the message of history which
is important, not the par-
ticular medium which relates
that messge. In that, really,
lies the significance of tradi-
tion and the value of
pluralistic modes of
expression.
Secular-Humanists use tra-
dition as a way of making our
Jewish experience feel worth-
while for us today. It is the ex-
pression of our faith in fin-
ding, through reason and in-
telligence, things worthwhile,
and living in commitment to
them. Through tradition, that
is through holidays, celebra-
tions, memorials, rituals and
observances, we bring spirit

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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