What do We Believe?
July 8, 2022 – ט׳ תַּמּוּז תשפ״ב
What do you believe? What do you really believe? And what are the principles that drive you – the principles about which you could never compromise?
Judaism doesn’t really have a creed. To be Jewish you are not required to recite and adhere to a specific statement of belief. This is because we are a People, and Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people.
The closest thing we have in our tradition to dogma or a statement of faith on which all Jews were meant to agree, are the “13 Articles of Faith” articulated by the Rambam (1135–1204 CE). Written in the 12th century as an introductory preamble to the 10th chapter of the Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin (known as Perek Helek), Maimonides outlined 13 different “I believe – אני מאמין” statements, upon which he imagined/envisioned the entire Jewish people agreeing.
Maimonides lived at a time when Christianity and Islam were developing active theologies, dogmas, and catechisms, and he knew that Jewish scholars were often asked to attest to their faith by leaders from the other two religions. His 13 Articles/principles of faith were formulated with the hope of providing a distilled and easily digestible understanding of Judaism– a theological ‘elevator pitch’ for those in need. At the time, Judaism was without a central authority that could ordain official principles of faith, and we know that despite the legal tradition where we often employ mahloket l’shem shamayim – a debate in the name of heaven – according to Maimonides, debate was not possible when it came to dogmatic principles.
In re-reading those 13 principles, it is hard for me to imagine that we could garner consensus in today’s world about anything at all. However, is there anything that could?
In his first week on the job, Prime Minister Yair Lapid used his inaugural speech to try and do just that.
In his “We Believe” speech, he contended that despite the deep rifts and major ideological divisions in the Israeli population, the majority of Israelis actually can agree on a set of foundational principles. He said that we all “have the same goal: a Jewish, democratic, liberal, big, strong, advanced, and prosperous Israel.”
PM Lapid articulated those principles that, in his mind, are basic beliefs held by the majority of Israelis, and that these principles ought to form the unifying base from which we will “build a Jewish and democratic, strong and advanced, benevolent and good Israel.”
I was inspired by his speech. As an ideological movement, we should be inspired and encouraged by the fact that he led with beliefs and ideology. As Israel enters into its 5th election cycle in three years, what has stood out most is that these exercises in combative democracy have largely been bereft of any and all ideology. In recent years, few Israeli electoral campaigns have been about even the basic issues of security, a negotiated resolution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the economy, the environment, etc.; and mostly have been about one issue:
Yes Bibi, or No Bibi (and this 5th round is no different). [Though it is worth saying that if we scratch the surface of right-wing and left-wing voters generally, the Israeli-Palestinian issue undergirds most political affiliations.]
What was refreshing about PM Lapid’s speech was that it went back to the basics. It put front and center the goal of the project of democratic Jewish nationalism and state-building. It talked about Israel’s threats and polarization and touched on diplomatic achievements and the importance of freedom of expression. It ended in the following way:
“Our children are watching us. What do we want them to see? We want our children to see that we did everything to build a Jewish and democratic, strong and advanced, benevolent and good Israel.”
Well, our children are watching us here in North America as well. They’re growing up fast, and theirs is a generation that has little patience for large and veteran institutions but rather leads with passion and values.
So, we ought to be clear on what we Reform Jews and liberal Zionists believe:
I’ll give it a start with 10 guiding principles of my own:
- I believe that to be a Jew today means to have some sort of relationship (which includes wrestling, doubting, pondering, frustration, discovery, etc.) with God, Torah, and Israel. Those can remain undefined but should be part of the equation.
- I believe we are part of a People. To be Jewish is to have awareness and identification with the collective Jewish people via historical memory; Jewish values; Jewish culture and creativity; Hebrew and Jewish languages; a multifaceted connection to the Land and people of Israel; concern for the Jewish people living not only in the Jewish state but throughout the world; and a Jewish way of life (e.g. celebrating Jewish holidays, life cycle events, and all the above).
- I believe that the State of Israel is central to Jewish identity throughout the Jewish world, but not necessarily its policies.
- I believe that as members of Am Yisrael the Jewish people, we have a collective responsibility to and for other Jews.
- I believe that Judaism was never frozen in history, and it is our obligation to evolve our religious civilization and adapt it to the challenges of modernity.
- I believe we have a right as a people to self-definition, self-determination, and self-defense.
- I believe we must acknowledge those same rights for other Peoples (especially the Palestinian people).
- I believe that, as Jews, we recognize that democracy is the best system of government that embraces the principle that all people are created in the image of God and are therefore equal and should be treated according to the values of justice and compassion.
- I believe that as a powerful and sovereign nation, Israel should be judged by how it treats the powerless, the “Other” (i.e. its minorities).
- I believe that no Jewish community or religious stream is holier, higher, or more authentic than any other, nor that any is more entitled than any other, and that we all can learn from each other’s values, practices, and experience.
Can we agree to those principles?
What do you believe?
Shabbat Shalom!