Revised for better clarity on 17 Nov 2020
Our Secular Orthodox Jewish community respects the historical relationship our many communities have had with our ancestral national deity. We respect the historical relationship our many communities have with Torah. In both, we strive to remain in dialogue with Jewish tradition, even though we are openly admitted non-theists.
As such, we behave traditionally by applying Torah laws to our present lives, but approach it non-theistically – focusing on its authority within our inherited culture. We strive to make ancient laws applicable to modern Jewish living, where these laws can be maintained.
Below is a list of Torah laws that we hold adherence to in traditionally Jewish ways. How we hold to them and why we do so is what makes us uniquely different as Secular Orthodoxy in the traditional Jewish communities. But that is a subject for in person discussion with those who identify with our ethno-religious perspective on Judaism. You will get lots of thoughts and opinions on this!
It is our learned experience that a truly vibrant traditional Jewish community does not need to coerce select common behaviors (a theistic demand) that all must abide by, for simple encouragement by inspiring example is motivation enough to preserve our ever evolving Jewish traditions! Our very existence as a people surviving through time and history is evidence of this.
Of the Torah laws, here is the community halakha that we have chosen to preserve and emulate by example (presented here in a somewhat progressing order of our Jewish rituals, to Torah-based human ethics, to our Jewish survival upon the land):
We have no gods, goddesses, nor any imagined “God” before our face for the purpose of worshiping, whether imagined or physically represented. (Sh’mot 20.3-5, Vayikra 26.1, D’varim 4.15-20, D’varim 5.7-9)
We protectively attend to the civil-ritual laws of our people, keeping ourselves as a set-apart people through ritual behaviors. (D’varim 10.20, D’varim 11.1, D’varim 28.9)
We are respectful towards those who are elderly, and we will treat the non-Jew within our communities as one “raised from the same soil,” as if they are a born Jew. (Vayikra 19.32-34)
We embrace our inheritance of a people’s Torah, this carefully crafted tapestry of many ancient Jewish writings revered as sacred literatures, and we study them as devoted scholars and teach them to our children and to others. (D’varim 6.6-7, D’varim 31.19, D’varim 32.46)
We recognize that the Torah (originally D’varim alone, then expanded to the “Five Books of Moses”) is the Jewish people’s national Constitution, therefore we preserve all ancient forms of it for study and cultural illumination. (D’varim 4.2)
We live in awareness that we are one with the planet’s eco-system, a member species upon this planet, and our role as humans is to be caretakers – to rule with wisdom and to balance wisely and sustainably our needs with the life also struggling to survive around us. (B’reishit 1.28-29, D’varim 25.4)
We wear tallit with tsitsit when we perform group/community rituals and, when performing personal or group ritual meditations (what religious Jews call “tefilla”). If individually desired, some might also wear tefillin, though we recognize as a community that the only purpose for tefillin (at present) is a theistic one, so the idea of wearing it is seen as a metaphor for preserving our Jewish traditions. In our communities, such garments are not limited to wearing by males only, as is the case with leadership roles, as well. (Bamidbar 15.38, D’varim 6.8, D’varim 22.12)
We attach a mezuzah to every door entrance of our house. Or, if we have fenced in yards, to every entrance of the fencing. We have an appropriate traditional non-theistic scroll available to put within it. (D’varim 6.9)
We recognize the beauty of diversity – meaning, for those who are male, male adornments; for those who are female, female adornments; and for those who are gender ambiguous, gender ambiguous adornments. And, for those who prefer to wear nothing, so be it, so long as you are naturally modest and adorned so at socially appropriate times! (D’varim 22.11, D’varim 22.5, B’reishit 2.25)
We recognize that, between the genders of male and female, it is males that need the sense of discipline and sense of belonging to a group, so we honor our Jewish ancestors tradition of brit milah and hatafat dam brit. We do not require complete circumcision of the foreskin of any newborn male, but (understanding the complex historical importance of this ritual) we do encourage that a cut be made for the sake of tradition and identity for those parents who are inclined towards this. The degree of cut upon the foreskin of a male between full circumcision and a drop of blood is left up to the parents of the newborn son. A certificate of brit milah or hatafat dam brit will be given by the community rabbis to verify this traditional Jewish mitzvah. (B’reishit 17.11,12,13, Vayikra 12.3)
Male Jews of our community are encouraged not to shave their beards away with a razor, despite their being no actual prohibition within Torah against this. Trimming and styling their beards with clippers/electric-shavers, no matter how close to the skin, is obviously acceptable. (Vayikra 19.27)
Male Jews of our community are highly encouraged not to completely cut-away the sidelocks of their hair – temple area. To what length individual male Jews of our community allow their sidelocks to grow differs per member, but we are cognizant of and approving with keeping this historical tradition. (Vayikra 19:27)
We do not place religious ritual scarring or tattooing upon our skins and permanent ritual markings to honor deceased loved ones. (Vayikra 19.28)
Male Jews need discipline, and female Jews need respect from male Jews. Were it not for women giving birth, there would be no males – a simple fact of life! We males have most of the month to offer our semen to our women, and it is respectful to allow them a menstrual period every month to prepare for our invited presence within them. (Vayikra 15.19, 24)
We recognize that sexual emissions and menstrual emissions make us uncomfortable, that they remind us that we human beings are, indeed, an animal species upon this planet. Thus, ritual immersion is important to us as Jews, for the sake of renewing and focusing – an act of honoring our natural human condition. (Vayikra 15.16, Vayikra 15.28, Vayikra 16.24)
We recognize that who is a Jew and who is not a Jew is solely decided upon by a legitimate Jewish community, regardless where they reside in this world. If a legitimate Jewish community accepts and declares you a Jew, then you are in literal fact a Jew for life – so long as the Jewish community accepts you as Jewish. We say “legitimate” only because there are Christians in this world pretending to be Jewish, and calling themselves “Messianic Jews” – when, in fact, they are Christians, and have no real understanding of what it means to be Jewish. (B’reishit 17.20-23, Bamidbar 15.14-16)
We accept, understand, and require – as Torah does – that Jewish law is determined by community established Jewish courts of law, which is comprised of one or, preferably, more rabbis. If such a court is needed, we deeply encourage plaintiffs to respect the rabbinical rulings made, in effort of fairness, on behalf of the community. (D’varim 16.18)
We recognize that any child born of a Jewish mother or Jewish father is a member of the Jewish community, and there is no questioning and no ambiguity in this. Those adopted or married into a Jewish family are hence forth Jews without question – and it is mandatory to edify their Jewishness. (D’varim 16.18)
We remember the day of resting, Shabbat, and sanctify it through rituals. We strive to not engage in any laborious creative work, kindle fires, or carry things outside our yards during Shabbat, unless it involves saving a life. (Sh’mot 20.8, Sh’mot 20.10)
We wear tallit and tsitsit and, for those who do so, tefillin while meditating and/or chanting from the Siddur Sfekot. Though we do not worship our inherited human imagined ancestral deity, we encourage bowing when remembering the ancestors who came before us and when in dialogue with theistic Judaism over our inherited “G-d” concept. We highly encourage every member of our community to do this at least once a day – either at the start of the day in the evening, or during the daylight time of the day, soon after waking up. And we chant the Siddur Sfekot as a community, for everyone’s benefit, at the beginning of Erev Shabbat. (D’varim 6.4-9)
We consciously reflect upon our eating, how it came to be – what efforts and sacrifices were made – this food in our mouths, and we express genuine thanks for this nourishment after the meal in a non-theistic but very traditional way. (D’varim 8.10-11)
We do not do unto others what we do not want them to do unto us. We set the example of the behaviors that we want to see in this world. We show respect towards others, we treat all as equals, we act honorably and fairly towards them, and we value the sanctity of human life. (Sh’mot 22.20-21, Sh’mot 22.24-26, Sh’mot 23.1-4, Sh’mot 23.6-8, Vayikra 19.11-18)
We show support for local food drives with our excess foods, and attempt to address the actual needs of those in need in the ways that we can accommodate. Every life is inherently precious while he/she/they/it have the breath of life within them. (Vayikra 19.9-10, Vayikra 23.22, D’varim 15.7-8, D’varim 15.11, D’varim 24.19-21)
We show hospitality towards visitors to our communities and homes, and treat them justly while in our presence. Friends of family are treated as family, so long as they respectfully be part of the family. (Sh’mot 22.20, D’varim 10.19)
We value greatly and deeply secular and ritual education, both for ourselves and for our children. We encourage the fullest exploration of educational resources by our children – understanding that the more knowledgeable about the world we are and the more flexible our minds in dealing with challenges, the greater our influence upon the world – for the betterment of all life upon the planet (if we act with wisdom with reason). (Avoth 2.2, D’varim 6.7, Mishlei 22.6)
We do not charge interest when making a loan to other Jews and those who are afflicted by poverty, and we are fair if charging interest when making loans to non-Jews who have financial means to repay – each according to their financial means and trustworthiness. (Sh’mot 22.24, D’varim 23.20-21)
We will utilize fair measures and weights when selling, trading, and conducting other forms of business. When asked for social and monetary help, we try to help to the means possible for us. (Vayikra 19.35-36, Vayikra 25.14, Vayikra 25.35-37)
We recognize that we are all humans struggling to survive life, and life is always changing. We will not threaten the sanctity of life and the inherent fact that all humans evolved together – despite our many social status differences. (D’varim 24.6, D’varim 24.10-13, D’varim 24.17)
When we employ someone(s), we treat them as value members of the business action – never abusing them in their efforts. We faithfully honor our spoken and written agreements and contracts with others. When someone pays a debt by way of work, we ensure they leave not empty-handed. (Vayikra 25.43, Vayikra 25.53, D’varim 24.14-15, D’varim 15.12-15)
We are an egalitarian Jewish community and, though social roles between genders naturally exist, we do not impose more such roles upon men and women. Torah allows, overall, for diversity and equality in social roles and divisions between men and women, therefore: where social situations require a male voice, males speak up with authority; where social situations require a female voice, females speak up with authority; and where both male and female voices together are required, both speak together with authority. We do not allow one gender to speak for the other gender, for this is disrespectful. (B’reishit 2.24, Sh’mot 21.9-10, Bamidbar 27.1-11)
We lean towards vegetarianism, but recognize the need for meat. We understand different diets are necessary for health, and that variety in its proper balance bring happiness and health to body-mind and palate. When we kill, how will kill definitely matters – so the best form of shechita matters! Simplicity in eating is best – the simpler the foods, the better the digestion. But food for humans is an artistic experience, as well, and we can’t get enough art that makes us happy while we eat. Therefore, with all this said, we as a Jewish community are Torah kosher! The prohibitions we abide by in our culinary choices are the prohibitions demanded in Torah: We do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk – it is ethically wrong – and, by extension, we avoid eating beef and cheese together, hot or cold, because of this. Cheese and other breathing-creatures? We wrestle with this, but they are not community prohibited! Additionally, as is so Jewish, we do not eat pork! Though, some of us may keep them piggies as pets. Understand, it’s just our thang, like not eating horses! Like wise, we do not eat the following breathing-creatures of the planet, because it is tradition and because we value wrestling – yes, wrestling – with our human primate condition of needing nutritional sources of food that are not just plants, thus requiring the need to kill a fellow breathing-creature of the planet for sustenance: We do not eat animals found torn to pieces in the field, domesticated animals that do not have both multiple stomachs and cleft hoofs (ex., camel, hyrax, hare, pigs, etc.), fish that do not have both fins and scales (ex., catfish, sharks, whales, etc.), birds that prey upon other creatures for sustenance (ex., eagle, vulture, hawk, falcon, raven, owl, gull, swan, duck, pelican, stork, heron, hoopoe, buzzard, ostrich, bustard, bat, etc.), insects that feast on other creatures for sustenance (ex., flies, bees, ladybugs, etc.), rodents or lizards (ex., weasel, ferret, mouse, rat, turtle, gecko, lizard, toad, chameleon, etc.), ground bugs and insects and creatures that move about using their underside (belly) for locomotion (ex., snails, worms, snakes, etc.), and multi-legged creatures (ex., beetles, scorpions, ants, millipedes, inchworms, etc.). The rest is up for culinary grabs, though we strive for reverence over the nefesh lives we are taking for sustenance and seek to moderate our killing behavior. (B’reishit 1.29, Sh’mot 22.30, Vayikra 11.4-7, D’varim 14.7-8, Vayikra 11.10, D’varim 14.9-10, Vayikra 11.13-20, D’varim 14.12, Vayikra 11.29-30, Vayikra 11.41-42)
We do not engage in the following sexual behaviors: Sex with family members, whether of the same bloodline or not; husband and wife during niddah, her menstrual cycle; adulterous sex with another man’s wife; adulterous sex with another man on the conjugal bed of one’s wife; and sex with other animals species, thus only with the human species. (Vayikra 18.6-18, Vayikra 18.19, Vayikra 18.20, Vayikra 18.22 and 20.13, Vayikra 18.23 – Note: Homosexual unions are not prohibited by Leviticus, except when conducted by a married man on his wife’s bed! Don’t worry, we’ll teach you.)
We observe the following Jewish festivals: the weekly Shabbat; the monthly new moon; the yearly Rosh ha’Shannah, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot; and, also, Chanukah, Purim, Tu b’Shvat, Yom ha’Shoah, and Yom ha’Atzmaut in their original ancient traditional forms. (Sh’mot 20.8-11, Bamidbar 10.10, Vayikra 23.24-25, Sh’mot 23.14-17, D’varim 16.14-17)
We only make promises and commitments that we truly intend to keep, and we do not avoid the fulfilling of our promises and commitments. (D’varim 23.24, D’varim 23.22-24)
If we’ve made a loan of some sort and who we loaned to legitimately cannot repay this loan within six years, we release him or her of this debt on the seventh year. (D’varim 15.1-3, D’varim 15.9)
We strive to advocate for and to protect the eco-system and its resources, and to promote sustainable lifestyles – even during times of war. (D’varim 20.19-20)
Beyond relevant Torah laws observed, we recognize that Torah places the establishment of further halakha within the realm of the Jewish communities. We abide by the halakha established within our Secular Orthodox Jewish communities, as required by Torah. (D’varim 16.18-20, D’varim 17.8-1, D’varim 17.11)
As Jews living in the Diaspora, we reserve the ethnic-religious right to not violate our Jewish halakha, even if laws are in force demanding such violations. (Vayikra 20.23)
We do not illegally kill, adulter, kidnap, testify falsely, nor take what is not ours in lust for it. (Sh’mot 20.13-14)
If we have caused damage or loss to another’s property and repairs/compensation is asked of us, we honor this obligation. (Sh’mot 22.8-14)
We do not maliciously gossip to cause shame or harm upon others. (Sh’mot 23.1-3)
We treat all humans as inherently equal under the law, deserving of equitable justice. We respect the needy, we do not punish the innocent, nor do we take bribes to distort the truth of matters (Vayikra 19.15, Sh’mot 23.6-8)
We do not rely on the word of one witness for wrongdoing or crime but, rather, we seek multiple witnesses to establish a clear precedence of guilt of the person. Any community actions to address wrongdoing is exacted upon only the guilty individual, always keeping in mind that healing and restorative justice is what we seek to achieve within our communities. (D’varim 19.15, D’varim 24.16)
We understand that there are things about this natural world that we do not yet understand. We also understand that humans have an active imagination to explain what is not understood. We rely fully upon evidence-based investigations and prognostics, avoiding pseudoscience and questionable mystic practices. (Vayikra 19.31, D’varim 18.20)
Now, those within our communities who have the cognitive clarity to see established patterns leading to events, we honor their words with attention. (D’varim 18.15-19)
As non-theistic Orthodox Jews (or “Traditional Jews,” however others wish to call us), we do not show reverence for the god, gods, or goddesses of theists. We are respectful that some humans still believe in human imagined deities, and that they have their reasons for doing so. But, respectfully, at the same time, we do not support their continued belief, and will be an open and public voice of reason towards them. (Sh’mot 20.3-5, Sh’mot 20.19-20, Sh’mot 34.17, Vayikra 19.4, D’varim 7.25, D’varim 13.2-4, D’varim 32.37-39)
We do not condone or support those claiming to be Jews, whether ethnicly justified or not, who violate the mitzvot of not reverencing other nations/religions gods or the mitzvot of not having a formed representation of the formless national deity of Jewish tradition. (D’varim 13.9)
We understand that fees to support community institutions are a reality in this world, and we seek to help in this where and how we can. If we can afford money for this, then we offer what we can afford. If we can afford our time and services, then we offer what we can afford. We do not expect upon all within our community to share the same burden of financial/services responsibilities, for all life experiences are different. (D’varim 12.5-7, Vayikra 23.22, Sh’mot 23.10-11)
We keep a yearly census within our communities, to officially register and account for every member of our community, to ensure that social economic needs – both civil and religious – are being met as and where this is needed. (Sh’mot 30.12-16)
We maintain a registered community accountant to ensure that all monies and other resources collected by the community go fully towards their agreed upon purposes. Personal gain from these resources at the expense of the community is the greatest sin! (Vayikra 22.14-15, Vayikra 27.1-28, Vayikra 27.30, D’varim 12.5-7, D’varim 14.27-29, etc.)
When faced with life threatening realities, we understand that life is a challenge and that death is an inevitability. Therefore, we strive to preserve the life of the breathing for while we live and can respond to our community’s needs – even if this requires, in unpreventable situations, that it cost our own life in the fulfillment of this mitzvot. (D’varim 3.22, D’varim 7.21)
We recognize as Jews that being Jewish is not about preserving oneself, but about having the emunah to preserve the family nation for yet another set of generations. (D’varim 11.13, D’varim 11.21, B’reishit 25.7-9, B’reishit 25.17, B’reishit 35.28-29, B’reishit 49.33, D’varim 32.50, Koheleth 12.7-8, Melakhim 2.22.2)
But, we understand and are assured that life and Jewish community will continue on, so long as there is an earth to live and breathe upon! (Daniyel 12.1-2)
What the Founder of this secular Jewish community wears: coffee brown fedora and tallit katan for weekdays, camel brown fedora and tallit gadol for Shabbat.
In the words of Rabbi Akiva Weingarten:
“People say, why do you wear a shtreimel on Shabbat; that belongs to the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic people? I say no, shtreimel and anything else that comes with Judaism belongs to all of us.
My general approach to Judaism is that everything that is in Judaism belongs to us, the people. We will determine which parts we want to keep and which parts we don’t.”
For those who may question the validity of our non-theistic embrace of traditional Judaism, and find in disregard the applicability of our Secular Orthodox Jewish community’s halakhah, please consider the words of the first Ashkenazi Chief Orthodox Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine in the Land of Israel, אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק הַכֹּהֵן קוּק HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, also known by the acronym הראי״ה.
“יש כפירה שהיא כהודאה, והודאה שהיא ככפירה. כיצד: מודה אדם שהתורה היא מן השמים, אבל אותם השמים מצטיירים אצלו בצורות כל-כך משונות, עד שלא נשאר בה מן האמונה האמיתית מאומה.
וכפירה שהיא כהודאה כיצד: כופר אדם בתורה מן השמים, אבל כפירתו מיוסדת רק על אותה הקליטה שקלט מן הציור של צורת השמים אשר במוחות המלאים מחשבות הבל ותוהו, והוא אומר, התורה יש לה מקור יותר נעלה מזה, ומתחיל למצא יסודה מגדולת רוח האדם, מעומק המוסר ורום החכמה שלו. אף-על-פי שעדיין לא הגיע בזה למרכז האמת, מכל-מקום כפירה זו כהודאה היא חשובה, והיא הולכת ומתקרבת להודאת אמונת אומן.
ודור תהפוכות כזה, הוא נדרש גם-כן למעליותא. ותורה מן השמים משל הוא על כל כללי ופרטי האמונות, ביחש של מאמר המבטאי שלהן אל תמציתן הפנימי, שהוא העיקר המבוקש באמונה.”
“There is a type of atheism that is really faith, and a type of faith that is really atheism. How so? One may acknowledge that the Torah is from Heaven, yet have an image of Heaven that is so immature that it does not have even a trace of true
faith.
What is an atheism that is really like faith? One may deny that the Torah is from Heaven, yet such a denial is based on a concept of heaven that was received from minds filled with incorrect beliefs. The atheist says that the Torah must have some other source and begins to search for meaning through the moral and intellectual spirit of mankind. Even though this person may not have arrived at ultimate understanding, this type of atheism is a kind of faith that in time will bring one closer and closer to a more complete truth.
This is an upside-down generation that needs much help. The debate of whether or not Torah is from heaven is a good example by which to explain many debates in faith. For what we are truly dealing with is the difference between what people say simply with their mouths and what they actually mean inside. The latter is what truly matters.”
– אורות האמונה
– Orot HaEmunah, translation by R’ Darren Levin
Now, in HaRaAYaH’s mind, those who lack “faith” in the existence of our human imagined ancestral “G-d” lack “ultimate understanding,” an understandable perspective from the devoted religious. Those of us who live in this modern age of applying the scientific method and cannot-but-face the question of the validity of blind faith see our Jewish tradition differently:
In as much as keeping tradition has preserved the Jewish people – an ethno-religious nation – the Jewish people have preserved our way of life through keeping uniquely Jewish traditions. Let us keep the survival of our people and what we represent at the forefront of our life experience! Even if we do this non-theistically!
As a non-theistic traditional Jewish community, we seek to be the bridge between those who have “faith” and who lack “faith” in keeping our traditional Torah-based Jewish way of life, ensuring “continuity” for the generations to come!