What Exactly Is “Traditional” Judaism?

If all versions of modern Judaisms around the world are reflective of a serious approach to traditional Jewish ethno-religious practice, then how are we defining “traditional” Judaism? Is “traditional” based on simple family heritage, shared myths and ethical values, a set of rituals/mitzvot that all versions agree is defining of Judaism, or is it a combination of these?

I conditioned my starting question with “all versions of modern Judaisms,” note the plural, because all Jewish “movement” versions that are in existence today are representative of Jewish practice or “Jewishness” – meaning, that they were started by Jews and are maintained by Jews. But, are all of them representative of “traditional” Jewish practices – the keeping of rituals and mitzvot that, by the very practice, demonstrates that we are Jews worldwide? Or, maybe, I should be asking: Is there such a thing as “untraditional” Judaism?

To answer this question, it will help to define what are the significant Jewish movements:

Among the Eastern nations, where the Jewish people and our ethno-religion originates, there is Mizrahi Judaism. Among Spain to North Africa, there is Sephardi Judaism. In Europe and the USA, there is Orthodox, Reform from Orthodox, Conservative and Reconstructionist from this, and the youngest movements known as Hasidic and Chabad (ultra-Orthodox). In Canada, there is Canadian Judaism. In the USA, Canada, and Israel, there is the unique version of Secular Humanistic Judaism. As well, specific to the USA, there is the Jewish Renewal and non-denominational community movements. And now, with our budding inkling of a movement, there is also a Secular Orthodox version of Judaism.

All these movements were started by Jews from legitimate Jewish communities, with one common singular intent: to keep the Jewish people present, safe, and relevant in these ever-changing modern times. How we do this is by keeping Jews grounded in their Jewishness, by adapting Jewishness to modern living (mental and physical living). But, are all these versions of Judaism “traditional”?

What is the definition of a traditional Jew? Is it rooted in following ancient ANE laws to the letter, as the Hasidim would have us believe? Is it dropping what does not work law-wise and embracing the cultural expression of Judaism, as the Reform and Secular Humanistic would have us believe? How did or would the ancient kingdom Jews define “traditional” Judaism, seeing how their physically grounded temple-cult Judaism directly precedes all modern versions?

I propose that we can establish an answer. All might not agree with this definition established here. But since when have Jews not passionately argued in disagreement over everything?! Let’s give this a shot, from our own informed perspective, shall we?

Rabbi Jesse Paikin, a Canadian Jew, makes an important observation in one of his blogs on Judaism:

“By labeling these [non-Orthodox] practices as “not something else [other than Judaism]” and judging them against the “traditional,” we give weight to an external (presumably Orthodox) standard. But all Jews own and have access to our tradition!

I believe this idea is encountered far too often by too many Jews: that Orthodox Judaism is the metric by which all other expressions of Judaism should be measured. Moreover, I believe that this idea is flawed and unattractive to most Jews searching for depth and meaning in their lives. People crave authenticity, and to sell ourselves as detached from our own tradition neuters this authenticity.”

I agree, and I believe that we all down deep agree with his assessment (am I wrong?). So, what is “traditional” Judaism, if not choosing to define our personal and communal lives through the lens of Jewish stories, mitzvot, language, ritual, and ethnic identification? What is “traditional” Judaism, whether we are as members and/or as community theistic oriented (meaning, the ancestral “G-d”-king demands this of us) or humanistic oriented (meaning, Judaism is our people’s creation and it is we who decide how to preserve it)?

Rabbi Paikin concludes in his blog:

“If we want [non-Orthodox] Jews to see themselves as more-than instead of less-than [Orthodoxy]; if we want [non-Orthodox] laity to aspire to greater depth of Jewish living, if we want Jews to aspire to great seriousness and meaning in their lives, then we must all take full ownership of our tradition. It belongs to all Jews, everywhere.” (1)

In other words, can’t we all just be Jewish? What good is a movement label, if it detracts from ones authentic expression of Jewishness, rather than edifying and adding to it? Who does it serve to label Jews, if this labeling is not inspiring all Jews to a deeper expression of our Jewishness?

The Union for Traditional Judaism defines “traditional” as advocating “for a passionate, open-minded approach to Torah study and observance of Jewish law (Halakhah) rooted in classical religious sources and informed by modern [critical] scholarship.” And that they encourage “all Jews to respect the actual parameters of Jewish law, avoiding the temptation to rewrite them in the spirit of secularism on the one hand or to evade legitimate contemporary questions on the other.” (2)

But, if this is “traditional” Judaism by definition, this brings us to another whole set of questions:

What is “Jewish law”? Is it every law found in Torah, and that to respect Jewish law is to live by them all (even though many contradict each other)? Is it Torah law as derived and interpreted by later written Talmudic sources (and, of all the conflicting rabbinical positions that are presented, which ones)? Is it taking one modern history created movement (say the youngest movement, the Hasidim) and declaring they are the authoritative representation of “traditional” that all Jews should aspire towards? What if you’re Jewish and you no longer believe in human imagined ancestral deities hiding about in the imagined heavens above? How do we aspire to be “traditionally” Jewish as a non-theistic (thus, secular) Jew?

The Society for Humanistic Judaism directly challenges “the assumption that Jews are primarily or exclusively a religious community and that religious convictions or behavior are essential to full membership in the Jewish people.” As non-theistic Jews who are admittedly passionate and committed to the Jewish “ancestral religion,” an ethno-religion, and to preservation of a modern and contemporary (albeit secular) Jewish way of life, they define the Jewish people in the following way:

“The Jewish people is a world people with a pluralistic culture and civilization all its own. Judaism, as the culture of the Jews, is more than theological commitment. It encompasses many languages, a vast body of literature, historical memories, and ethical values.

A Jew is a person of Jewish descent or any person who declares himself or herself to be a Jew and who identifies with the history, ethical values, culture, civilization, community, and fate of the Jewish people…. The authority to define “who is a Jew” belongs to all the Jewish people and cannot be usurped by any part of it.” (3)

So, to take in the range of Jewish positions, to be fully “traditionally” Jewish requires that we embrace the full history of the Jewish people (actual and mythical, together), that we explore the full multi-thousand year range of Jewish theistic and non-theistic thought on Jewishness, that we test try the various “traditional” rituals of Jewish communities around the world and throughout Jewish history, and that we determine as an established community of Jews just what our Jewish rituals, “Jewish laws,” and outward expression of Judaism precisely is – and, then, live faithfully by it!

We as Secular Orthodox Jews maintain that “Traditional Judaism” in every time period of Jewish history is inherently pluralistic (and not monolithic, not even among Jewish theists), is tied to a preservation of and appreciation for our ancient stories and Jewish languages, and clings to the hope and desire for the survival of our people’s ethno-religious lifestyle – however each community chooses to define this expression of living Judaism.

If we are fully engaged in this, then we are engaged in “traditional” Judaism – and, I would dare say, by Jewish definition! Perhaps, maybe, it is time for us who live under Western influence to let go of the labels – and just all be Jews again, which is what we inherently are as a people. It’s okay to be of common ground, with differences! It is this way among members within every family of this world – and family is what Judaism is ultimately, by fundamental definition, all about in its historical substance.

There are no lesser Jews and more authentic Jews. There are only Jews, expressing Judaism as is the custom of their historically formed communities. Let’s inspire this Jewishness within us, and leave the conversions to the Christian religion.

(1) – https://jessepaikin.com/tag/traditional-judaism/
(2) – https://utj.org/about-us/
(3) – https://shj.org/living-humanistic-judaism/radical-inclusion/who-is-a-jew-1988-resolution/