We often hear stories of parents or friends that were living a comfortable conservative or reform lifestyle, and then, after a trip to Aish or a visit by Chabad, they take a hard turn to Orthodoxy, often of a serious fundamentalist variety. Often the parents or friends are left wondering why? They thought they had provided a comfortable and socially conscious approach to religion. Why had their kids chosen such an intolerant form of the religion. We had an article posted recently and there are tons of similar stories. Every single one a victim of pretty much standard missionary tactics.
The reason why they are so easily victimized is because of the book, specifically in this case the Torah.
The problem arises because while less-fundamentalist versions of Judaism don't necessarily follow the Torah, they still venerate it. They still believe that it was God's divine gift. And they teach this to the kids. The book is important.
Now when the kids grow up, they start looking around and they find some people who actually take the book seriously. Perhaps they say, "If it's God's gift to humanity, then, shouldn't we be taking it seriously?" Because they don't necessarily have the tools (Hebrew) to examine it themselves, they're susceptible to cherry-picked verses and explanations. They can be presented with a very fundamentalist viewpoint, modernized by out-of-context quotes and sketchy interpretations. And they eat it up. They eat it up, because they have been taught their whole life that the book is the key.
And yes, this is the exact same thing that happens in "radical Islam" recruitment. It's why moderate Islam is inherently unstable, just like conservative Jewry, continually losing people to the left (secularism) or the right (fundamentalism). It's why moderate Islamist are continually fighting and uphill and losing battle against the fundamentalists. Part of me wonders if the only difference between Judaism and Islam in this regard is the size and the relative power they wield. If Judaism had the number of adherents of Islam, would it be guilty of the same sorts of atrocities? As Einstein said,
As far as my experience goes, they [the Jewish People] are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power.
This may be the first time that I vehemently disagree with you, kefira! Most of the Ba'al tshuvas and converts I've met, say that what turned them on was not torah or mizvos, but rather the sense of belonging and the atmosphere they experienced at aish or chabbad. They were turned on by the (false) impression that orthodox Judaism is a farbreingen with loving, non-judgmental, cool people. Only after leaving the cocoon of the BT world, and assimilating into mainstream OJ communities, do they discover that they are stuck as second class citizens in a highly judgmental, fundamentalist, ethnocentric, xenophobic cult. I will grant you that a small minority of BTs may be attracted to OJ for the OCD structure it provides, and perhaps even a smaller minority are attracted to 'the book'.
ReplyDeleteI am, of course, very open to the possibility that I'm completely wrong! Thanks for the insights from your experience.
DeleteMy training in kiruv empasized that two aspects of Judaism need to be demonstrated: that it's 'true', and that it's 'good'.
ReplyDelete'True' includes proofs of the Torah's divinity etc, while 'good' includes shabbos, bitachon, etc.
So I think you are both right. Successful kiruv usually incorporates both.
@kefira, I'm sure your personal experience was as you describe.
ReplyDelete@throwaway, bitachon was definitely part of the training, but that usually consisted of 'discovery' type tricks, bible codes etc, which I guess, can be categorized as 'the book'. Overall however, and the same is probably true for fundamentalist Islam converts, the sense of community and belonging, whether to a jihad or the chosen people is what entraps most BTs.
Kefira, I absolutely agree though on the point of Judaism being as violent as Islam given the opportunity. Looking back; the (mythological) stories of conquest and genocide, and forward the the days of moshiach, when we will masacre amalek (and others) , men women and children!
ReplyDeleteBased mainly on Shimmel's book I wrote a post about the staying power and draw of Fundamentalism. It can provide a comforting worldview in the face of existential angst. It provides absolute answers. Most people seem to need these sort of crutches in the face of cold hard reality or the cold cruel world. My guess is the vast majority of non religious people who convert' do so because of emotional or psychological reasons. Same for people who join cults. It is also a one major reason many remain 'religious'. But if you can also provide 'proof' that the religious belief or cult is 'true', that is icing on the cake and reinforces the emotional attraction to the religion.
ReplyDelete@kocker there should be a 'like' button on the blog! Like!
ReplyDelete"Part of me wonders if the only difference between Judaism and Islam in this regard is the size and the relative power they wield. If Judaism had the number of adherents of Islam, would it be guilty of the same sorts of atrocities?"
ReplyDeleteKefira, have you been reading the Kuzari?
Part I, sections 113-15 (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Kitab_al_Khazari/Part_One) reads:
"The Rabbi: I see thee reproaching us with our degradation and poverty, but the best of other religions boast of both. Do they not glorify Him who said: He who smites thee on the right cheek, turn to him the left also; and he who takes away thy coat, let him have thy shirt also. He and his friends and followers, after hundreds of years of contumely, flogging and slaying, attained their well-known success, and just in these things they glorify. This is also the history of the founder of Islam and his friends, who eventually prevailed, and became powerful. The nations boast of these, but not of these kings whose power and might are great, whose walls are strong, and whose chariots are terrible. Yet our relation to God is a closer one than if we had reached greatness already on earth.
Al Khazari: This might be so, if your humility were voluntary; but it is involuntary, and if you had power you would slay.
The Rabbi: Thou hast touched our weak spot, O King of the Khazars. If the majority of us, as thou sayest, would learn humility towards God and His law from our low station, Providence would not have forced us to bear it for such a long period..."
No offense, but I agree with M Rose's first post above. :-)
From your point of view, as an atheist, humans have no free will.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/books/review/free-will-by-sam-harris.html
In light of that, criticizing people for being too extreme or for any other reason makes no more sense than criticizing a Hello Barbie doll for it's opinions.
http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-DKF74-Hello-Doll/dp/B012BIBAA2
Not only are we all Hello Barbies, but, from your point of view, we are Hello Barbies created purely by the random chance interaction of subatomic particles with no intelligent designer involved. (Natural selection does nothing to negate the meaningless randomness of our origins. The fact that the laws of nature are calibrated in a way which allows or encourages the development of life is itself the result of random chance.)
Jacob Stein - You have a way with words. Not to insult you but your comment brought a smile face. In fact, I may actually agree with SOME of what you say. The universe AND it's "laws" could all have originated as a result of a random quantum fluctuation. We likely are of no greater significance to the Universe than worms - consistent with Ecclesiastes. You my want to see this post http://altercockerjewishatheist.blogspot.com/2015/08/proof-of-god-from-free-will-justice.html
Delete@Jacob Stein also see Rambam in this post http://altercockerjewishatheist.blogspot.com/2015/01/proof-of-god-from-fine-tuning_16.html
DeleteI am just amused by how atheists say things which contradict their own stated beliefs. For example in this in this post, Orthodox Jews are criticized for being intolerant radicals who are victimizing naive secular Jews.
DeleteIn reality, from the point the view of an atheist, Orthodox Jews are no more than a bunch of Hello Barbie dolls saying exactly what we have been programmed to say, although in this case you can't blame the people at Mattel. We are Hello Barbies created by no intelligent designer, but rather have been created by a random chance clumping of subatomic particles which happens to have created an illusion of design.
Of course my refutation is that until proven otherwise things are what they appear to be and we do indeed have a free will, a soul and God created us.
@ Jacob Stein - what if we evolved to have the ability to make choices ? A Lion see a Zebra - it has to evaluate the chances of a successful attack - is this free will ?
DeleteWith no God, there is no soul, with no soul there is no free will.
Deletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/books/review/free-will-by-sam-harris.html?_r=0
@ Jacob Stein - So does the Lion have free will ? How about a Chimpanzee ?
DeleteJacob Stein - why do god(s) have to exist in order for souls to exist ?
DeleteRandom interactions of particles will not create a soul or free will.
DeleteJacob Stein - maybe you misunderstand my question - why cant souls just exist ? Why do you have to have god(s) in order for souls to exist ?
Delete@ Jacob Stein - So does the Lion have free will ? How about a Chimpanzee ?
Delete@jacob, can you please share what turned you on to Judaism? Was it as kefira hypothesized because of the book, as others suggested, or another reason? Additionally, what made you trade Jesus as your god for Yahwe? I understand that you believe that a god created the world and we didn't get here by chance, but why yahwe? Why not a loving god like jesus?
ReplyDeleteYou can check out the introduction to my book. A free PDF version is available on my blog Torah Philosophy.
DeleteJacob, that is the topic of this post; which part of Orthodox Judaism got people like yourself to abandon their families, upbringing and religion (or lack thereof) and join a fringe, extremist cult? Kefira shared his experience, and others like myself shared our observations, so I'm curious what did it for you? I did skim your blog and as an expert in the psychological world, my guess would be to fill the void you had from having been abandoned as a child, your adoption, and that you ultimately found 'belonging' in the OJ world. But that's just a guess.
ReplyDeleteI would direct you to the introduction to my book, which you can find here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.torahphilosophy.com/2013/03/my-book-is-ready.html
I personally don't spend a huge amount of time analyzing the motives behind specific people making specific choices. I think that the answer is usually very complex and probably unclear even to the person himself.
Why do people choose the careers they do, the spouses they do, the religious beliefs, the political positions, the friends, the diet, the clothing, the home, the hairstyle, etc etc? And the stated reasons, even if the person himself believes that is the reason, may be far from the true reason.
I think it's rare to find a person making even major decisions based on rigorous logic and painstaking research. More often people choose whatever they are comfortable with at the moment.
Anyhow read my book, which has more to do with my present motives rather than original motives for being a Jew, and if you've got any criticisms feel free to shoot an email to jacobstein1960@gmail.com
Good point Jacob. I actually spend almost all of my time analyzing why people do what they do, that's almost all my professional field has been interested in since its' inception. Some of the less fascinating (although intriguing) are diet and clothing 'choices' or impulses, but the most fascinating are serious life choices like the partners we 'choose' or huge shifts in religious / cultural affiliations. Thus, you can appreciate why I'm fascinated by the initial causes of your dramatic shift, as well as the current positions you take. I have some of my own thoughts from watching your style of interaction on blogs, but was hoping you'd share your thoughts.
DeleteI'll take a peek at your pdf book when I have some down time, perhaps shabbos after the cholent!