“Despite the [Israeli] state rabbinate’s ideologically hybrid human makeup [a secular democratic civil government with a singular rabbinical national religious establishment for all Israeli citizens], from a conceptual perspective it has long functioned as a central symbol of the modern Jewish political renaissance. The very idea of a sovereign [secular] Jewish state sponsoring its own rabbinic corps conjures up associations with Jewish nationhood of the ancient past.8 Such images of a natural synthesis between political and religious heritage resonate in particular for many within the national religious camp who remain ideologically committed to ultimately transforming Israel into a halakhic state [aka, a theocratic state ran by Orthodox rabbis] (A. Cohen, Hatalit vehadegel, 89–109, 72–88).
Paradoxically, however, many of those who occupy state rabbinic positions are products of the haredi yeshiva world, and do not necessarily identify with Zionism as a positive ideology. This seeming contradiction is primarily economically motivated as the state-sponsored positions are generally more lucrative than working as an independent rabbi or yeshiva lecturer. The willingness of the haredi rabbis to work within the Zionist enterprise may stem as well from the fact that through the more informal roles adopted by many state rabbis, such as teaching daily Talmud classes or delivering sermons in area synagogues, they come into closer day-to-day contact with their more observant constituents (Schwartzfuchs, 141).7
Parallel to the broad constituency approach that [stands] at the foundation of the Israeli state rabbinate, there have always existed alternative rabbinic models…. Unlike the predominant haredi outlook [anti-Zionism/statehood, being in Israel fulfills solely a sectarian religious purpose only, not a sovereign one], the new Orthodox rabbinic approaches do not represent an ideological abandonment of the aim of serving all Jews. However, on a practical level, some national religious figures have reached the conclusion that the broad constituency model of the state rabbinate has at best failed to address effectively the spiritual [and ritual/lifestyle] needs of the highly diverse contemporary Israeli population, if not actually producing greater alienation. In order to deal with this situation, the new Israeli Orthodox rabbinate—like the non-Orthodox movements—has chosen to focus on the non-observant population.9 [aka,] Orthodox rabbis for secular Jews.”
– Adam S. Ferziger, Religion for the Secular, March 2008, [ ] – mine for clarification
The problem with the rise of European Judaism – “Rabbinic Judaism” – is that it cannot and will not ever be able to fulfill the ethno-religious needs of *all* Jews, for far too many Jews outside of the Rabbinic Jewish model – Karaite, Haymanot, Cochin, Banu, and Samaritan Judaisms (Mizrahi, Indian, African) – are unrepresented and far *too often* disparaged and/or outright ignored by the white Jew’s idealized form of Judaism (Ashkenazi, primarily, and Sephardi)! The Rabbinic form of Judaism is just one form of many Judaisms that arose after the fall of the Jewish Temple cult religion, from the occupation of Israel/Judea by the Roman Empire (the polytheistic version of Rome, before their Christianizing by the Christianized Greeks).
After World War II (the genocidal Holocaust inflicted upon Jews across all of Christian Europe – aided and abetted by the writings of white supremacists in the USA who were targeting “black” citizens, their “Eugenics” racist pseudoscience!), Jews realized once again that, even with “Jewish emancipation and citizenship,” Jews will never be fully accepted in white “Christian” nations (literally, all white European nations – including, off and on – despite Jewish involvement in the founding of this nation, the racist United States of America). This is the literal historical reason for Jewish “Zionism,” the need for self-sovereignty within our lands, the very little patch of land in the Middle East, which conquesting empires kicked most of us out of – through slavery, racial hatred, and forced sovereignty dissolvement.
Because it was displaced European Jews that were primarily the reason for the modern 20th century state of Israel, with support from the Mizrahi Arab-Jewish commumities displaced in response by Arab nations, the Rabbinic model of Judaism was used to establish a national religious establishment. But, their rituals and halacha are only *relational* to other Jews/Judaisms and, thus, *not* the rituals and halacha of *all* Jews. Yet, through their inherited white privilege outside of Europe proper, they insist on turning all Jews into Rabbinic Jews (hence, their deliberate indifference to other legitimate Jewish commumities, in Israel and around this world!). The oppressed has become the oppressor we so righteously abhore!
This whole idea of “Orthodox” Judaism and “secular” Jews, quotes are “Christian” terms used by Western Jews, is a direct interfering contribution of Christianity upon Rabbinic Judaism, which is simply the European expression of our Jewish ethno-religion. This Christianizing by terminology is an attempt to make Judaism white and acceptable to Christian culture, the white supremacist culture. (Christianity, a white Gentile religion that is based solely upon an absolutist “Individual” salvation ideology – the very antithesis to everything Jewish!)
I understand that white Jews have been too often in history the victims of white supremacy (1600 years worth, and counting!). But, I also understand that Rabbinic Jews are now the supremacists and the victimizers of minority Jews and Arabs – *in of all places, the Landlord’s property (YHWH’s land)*! The victim has become the oppressor, but I truly hope so *unintentionally*. But, this *MUST* stop, now!!! As a Jewish people, we must be better than the rest of humanity! This is our own self-given written *Torah* mandate. It’s time that we Jews let the white supremacist Christian influence upon our ethno-religious way of living go. SERIOUSLY, let it go, and make – by our example – universal peace among humans happen!
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Jews are not obligated to make friendship efforts with Christians and Muslims, who are the privileged religious oppressors within this world. Jews are obligated by our written words, our Torah, to make friends with the oppressed and the victimized – to stand with them fully in pursuit of צדקה justice! This is the lesson of the פסח pesach story (wrongfully translated as “passover”).
We are still here, upon the land, as Jews to make nations out of the oppressed peoples – not to join in on the privileged peoples’/religions’ oppressing of others! Let’s not forget who we are as a Jewish nation of families. Let’s not make the mistake of being the privileged fundamentalists in this world, like those who stand at the center, in the absolutist heart, of white Christianity and Islam!
Our ethno-religious way of living, our Judaisms, demand better of us.
סדר הפסח שמח!
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Yes, very unfortunately, there is such a thing as “white Jews” who don’t know their history upon this planet (literally, historically ignorant!) and think that, because some who are more white than them oppresses them, they somehow are not equally the oppressors within *their* level of white privilege. (!?What?!) Here, in the snap of a Jew’s FB profile, is an example of what I mean!
Jews in United States need to start standing for anti-racism, not sporting profile photos of racist Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. It’s bad enough that the Attorney General, Judah Benjamin, of the treasonous Confederate States was a racist white Jew! It’s bad enough that Aaron Lopez, Francis Salvador, Judah Touro, and Haym Salomon, all white-presenting Jews, owned black slaves in the USA. (Haym Salomon personally financed the Founders of the slave-nation United States of America during its beginning years, to his financial loss!) Rabbi Jacob Levin was a slave trader in South Carolina, and Rabbi of Columbia’s synagogue. Shall we go on!!!
White privilege and supremacy is the same around this world, this human planet, regardless who posseses this privilege by way of their skin color! Which we *all* know is *always* lighter than the oppressed!
I wouldn’t complain so much, if there was *indeed* authentic examples of the opposite, not based in “situational” racism, but systemic structural racism, as all white Western influenced nations inflict upon this world without accountability. A human is a human, period! Deserving the same exact human rights and legal justice decrees!
Until this is in place, white racism rules the human population, and white Jews are included in this white privilege and white supremacy upon this planet Earth! It’s time for all Jews of European ancestry (by inheritance, all Rabbinic Jews, secular or dati), to take up the anti-racist cause of Uri L’Tzedek, and be on the frontline of correcting and educating any/every white Jew on their unacknowledged racism and white privilege – silence is complicity in racism and white supremacy!
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“[In these Western influenced nations,] We are used to thinking of religion as a series of theological propositions that we must accept. But really it is more an experience, a framework for living one’s life. [For examle,] We are often invited in Judaism [- an ethno-religion, that is not theology bound] to playact.
On Yom Kippur, we pretend we are standing before a Divine Tribunal and being judged. On Pesach, we are told to imagine what it was like to be enslaved and then freed. The purpose is not to verify the historical facts but to go through certain experiences that teach us important messages and heighten our religious, spiritual sensitivity.
It is the action, the experience that counts more than the words and the theory.”1
And, this is the difference between an individual salvation religion (Christianity, Islam – both are proselytizing and world conquesting, and Buddhism) and the remaining ethno-national salvation religions (Judaism, Diné Navajo, Yazidis Kurd, Druze, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism Iran, Haipule o Hawai’i, etc., etc., etc.). All the ethno-religions playact their stories, to teach ethnic history, ideology, and spiritual connectiveness. Ethno-religions are not about “faith” theologies, but about “remembrance” of who we are as people throughout the endless generations.
This is why I tell secular Jews that they are blind to the ever-present dangers of Christianity and Islam within this world. Because the full sum purpose of these world-wide conquest religions is to usurp the remaining ethno-religions of the planet, converting their ethno-religious ways of living into “Christianized/Islamized” equivalent forms – all for the purpose of having every human profess “faith” of allegiance and belief to the “demiGod/God” of these religions. Thus, all who are converted – *even if the majority choose to live secularly afterwards* (meaning, not bound by Christian/Islamic religious law) – are *indifferent* to the threat that these two absolutist religions pose to the remaining ethno-religions of the planet.
Nations of families that are still free of this conversion (usually coercively forced upon minorities by their fundamentalist/absolutist devout), and we *want* to stay so free. We are not Mitzrayim (the Christian and Islamic empires, lit. the Egyptian empire), we are yehudim (Jews and those who joined us) in our journey towards self-sovereignty freedom – within and beyond the land of Egypt.
חג פסח שמח!
1 – Dr. Rabbi Jeremy Rosen, A Conduit to the Divine That Enriches Our Lives, https://www.thetorah.com/article/a-seder-without-history-a-conduit-to-the-divine-that-enriches-our-lives
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