Judaism Is Not Up For Debate
I had heard about episode of Dr. Michelle Daf’s show that featured a group of Black women, who identified as Jewish, Christian and Hebrew Israelite, discussing some key points of their faith together. I kept seeing snippets on Instagram — so I figured that I would sit and watch the full episode. Here it is:
Whew. Ok, where to even start? Ok — well let me start off with the positives. I love that there are several Black Jewish women featured here. Dr. Daf has other videos where the Jewish perspective is presented by White (presenting) Jews. So I think that alone is a bit of a mind-blowing moment. Also it is not evident, but because it wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the video, but the Jewish women are actually presenting a variety of Jewish perspectives (i.e. Orthodox, Sephardi, masorati, etc.). So that is good.
Other than that, I did not come away with this great feeling of satisfaction or even time well-spent after watching this video. The dialogue was exhausting and the comments/reactions to the video are even worse. Even in the hour and a half presented here, there were too many voices and the points were not really fleshed out well. An the underlying spirit was not one of mutual respect (although Chaya did say afterward that it was a fun experience, and there was a lot of love an respect off camera — and I believe that; but that was a respect for the individual people, not a respect for the differing faiths). Also, it sort of seemed like a pointless exercise with no end goal.
There are also some reaction videos, like this one and this one. And thanks to these videos, some more context is given to these women. For example, Huldah is actually a messianic Jew (or at least was) — which is pretty much a Christian. Talyah calls herself a ‘Torah observant Christian’ — or something like that. So the lines are blurred in that way. But let me just quickly review my responses to the prompts.
In short, the answer is “Yes“. But the thing is Jews do not believe that membership is tied to ethnicity, but rather the people/tribe that you belong too. And the gate to membership is through the mother. So it doesn’t matter what your ethnicity or race is; if your mother is or was Jewish, then you are Jewish. There is a spiritual state that is imparted onto the soul. Chaya said it very well — you pass through the water to receive it; either the water of your mother or the water of the mikveh. This is why when a pregnant woman converts to Judaism, her child is born Jewish.
Yes; but again, this is a loaded question. For Jews, being ‘chosen’ does not mean that you are saved. It means that you have responsibility. But Jews also have a gift. The gift to have the full use and access to the Torah, which is God’s guide to humans on how to live an elevated life. This isn’t required for non-Jews. Just like it isn’t required that everyone goes out to become a doctor; or that everyone is slated to be a monarch of a country. But you can take upon yourself to go through the necessary requirements to join the ‘chosen people’. On the panel they talked about Ruth. The Jewish ladies correctly noted that Ruth did not convert on her own. She was ushered in by Naomi and also Boaz took her into his household. There were distinct actions and a change of lived status that made that conversion possible.
Yeah this is a resounding no. Jews believe in one God. You commune with God directly. You do not need a middle man. Case closed.
Yes, but again with a caveat. In my honest opinion, the Jewish women did not stress enough that the vast majority of the laws from the ‘Old Testament’ either do not apply or can’t be performed because we do not have a temple. And I think this is also where Huldah outed herself a bit because she mentioned that ‘rabbinic Judaism’ is something separate. No it isn’t. Rabbis are the professional students and teachers of Torah. We need their knowledge in order to build a framework of how to live as Jews without a temple and in many cases, far from the land of Israel. The Torah is the covenant between the Jews and God. If a Jew doesn’t keep it they are still a Jew. But their tie to the covenant becomes precarious and as the generations go on, their descendants will be lost.
Yes; but also it doesn’t really matter. And this is where I know I am going to piss off some Jews — but oh well! You only need one parent (the mother) to be Jewish to make you Jewish. In addition to that, you can convert and become Jewish. So this stress and emphasis on lineage and birthright is really put on a pedestal when it doesn’t need to be. So I’m actually with the Christians on this one — where the status of “Jew” is not closed off to anyone just because of the status or people that they were born into. Is it easy and straightforward to become Jewish? No, it isn’t. And that is ok. Not everything is for every body.
In the related videos I found another episode that features Christians and (formerly Christian) Jews only. That one was less chaotic and ended in a more purposeful way in my own humble opinion. Here it is:
This one was easier to watch and follow. But again, I found myself questioning 1) the overall point of these discussions and 2) the chosen presentation medium which is so limiting and really just encourages confirmation bias towards what you already believe. What was refreshing in this video is that Jaye Naomi said several times that several points would need more time to flesh out. So it was nice to have it confirmed that I wasn’t totally crazy for feeling like this!
So again, I think that it is great that these videos were made. But they really are not for me. First of all, Dr. Daf seems to be very tolerant to all of the faiths. But she herself is a self described devout Christian. So as a Jew, I have no need to go to a Christian platform to see a presentation of my faith and people. So there’s that.
There’s also the issue of debating religion in general. Religion is not like politics. It’s not just what you believe. It provides a framework for your life. Your family, community, your lifestyle even. So it’s not easily shaken away and discounted. Early on, I had heard that Orthodox rabbis do not debate non-Orthodox rabbis and non-Jews in areas of religion. At first I thought that this was a silly rule. And I had stumbled upon the book below to help support my decision to leave Reform Judaism and move toward Orthodoxy.
But even as much as I enjoyed this book, it did not truly change the trajectory of my life. That was already in the works. I already had a bias, and this book just confirmed it. And that is exactly what these videos do. You watch them through your own person lens, and then you assign your bias to these strangers — and you cross your fingers that they do an acceptable job of arguing your point for you. Rarely will you have a random Jew, Christian, or Hebrew Israelite watch this and then sit back and say, “Wow. I think I now have some doubts about my own faith.” No! That just isn’t going to happen in 99% of cases. And for Jews, that is totally fine; because we aren’t looking to convert anyone anyway.
What Would Have Been Better?
It would have been, in my opinion, a better use of time to present questions to one faith group — in a respectful and non-inflammatory manner. And to do so in the spirit of wanting to learn, grow and come to understand. That would be a much easier discussion to watch.
