Nitpicky Jewish Traditions (ritual, Torah, HaShem, hell, doctrine)

[NoahideHiker]

I read this letter on Rabbi Lazer Brody's blog and it was so poinant I thought I'd share it here.

Dear Rabbi,
Why does the Jewish religion seem to obsess over insignificant details? How much matza do we have to eat, which spoon did I use for milk and which for meat, what is the right way to tie my shoelaces? It seems to me that this misses the bigger picture by focusing on minutiae. Is this nitpicking what Jews call spirituality? I actually already sent you this question over a week ago and didn't receive a reply. Could it be that you have finally been asked a question that you can't answer?!


Signed, Rob


Dear Rob,
I never claimed to have all the answers. There are many questions that are beyond me. But it happens to be that I did answer your question, and you did get the answer. I sent a reply immediately. The fact that you didn't receive it is itself the answer to your question. You see, I sent you a reply, but I wrote your email address leaving out the "dot" before the "com". I figured that you should still receive the email, because after all, it is only one little dot missing. I mean come on, it's not as if I wrote the wrong name or something drastic like that! Would anyone be so nitpicky as to differentiate between "yahoocom" and "yahoo.com"? No, it's not ridiculous. Because the dot is not just a dot. It represents something. That dot has meaning far beyond the pixels on the screen that form it. To me it may seem insignificant, but that is simply due to my ignorance of the ways of the web. All I know is that with the dot, the message gets to the right destination; without it, the message is lost to oblivion.


Jewish practices have infinite depth. Each nuance and detail contains a world of symbolism. And every dot counts. When they are performed with precision, a spiritual vibration is emailed throughout the universe, all the way to G-d's inbox. If you want to understand the symbolism of the dot, study cyber tech. If you want to understand the symbolism of Judaism, study Torah.



Yours always, Rabbi B.

http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/

[Ody]

When you have orders, you better do exactly as your superior wants in this type of case...

[jamaesi]

What a snappy and witty reply! I love it!

[jmaster78]

Originally Posted by jamaesi

What a snappy and witty reply! I love it!

I don't think it's witty, the necessity for the dot can be explained much easier than many of what seem like utterly pointless rabbinical rules and regulations. We know the web address won't work without the dot, but will tying your shoelace the wrong way really send you to hell? I'm not jewish by the way so could someone please tell me which page of the original mosaic law describes the correct knot to use.

[NoahideHiker]

Originally Posted by jmaster78

I don't think it's witty, the necessity for the dot can be explained much easier than many of what seem like utterly pointless rabbinical rules and regulations. We know the web address won't work without the dot, but will tying your shoelace the wrong way really send you to hell? I'm not jewish by the way so could someone please tell me which page of the original mosaic law describes the correct knot to use.

Where did anyone say anything about things sending someone to hell?

It's about the traditions that have value. Every single thing in life can have meaning and value to it. Take hand washing. If I give value to washing my hands a certain way and saying a blessing when I do is this in vain or worthless? Of course I could just wash my hands and walk away without a thought. But if I can do something and give it vaule why would I do it another way?

If you are not Jewish then do not do Jewish things and live in peace and may Hashem bless you and keep you.

[jmaster78]

not being Jewish, i just have trouble understanding what is compulsory with regards to the faith. you say these things have nothing to do with being a good Jew, others would impress on you to follow them rigidly. I simply don't know whats doctrine and whats not. whose being extreme and why's not, i'm heading to Israel soon and would like to know these things so i don't offend anyone. Obviously the shoe lace thing is minor (though I still can't see how it has any bearing on your daily life) but pointers to somewhere that might explain these customs would help. It was only yesterday i found out women mustn't turn their back on the Wailing Wall. I'm a bloke so that wouldn't make a difference to me, but i'm sure there are some things that are frowned upon regardless of sex. and knowing me, i'll put my foot right in it!

[NoahideHiker]

Originally Posted by jmaster78

not being Jewish, i just have trouble understanding what is compulsory with regards to the faith. you say these things have nothing to do with being a good Jew, others would impress on you to follow them rigidly. I simply don't know whats doctrine and whats not. whose being extreme and why's not, i'm heading to Israel soon and would like to know these things so i don't offend anyone. Obviously the shoe lace thing is minor (though I still can't see how it has any bearing on your daily life) but pointers to somewhere that might explain these customs would help. It was only yesterday i found out women mustn't turn their back on the Wailing Wall. I'm a bloke so that wouldn't make a difference to me, but i'm sure there are some things that are frowned upon regardless of sex. and knowing me, i'll put my foot right in it!

This is one of the confusing (and wonderful) things about the traditions of Judaism. The Jewish people have been so far flung in the world that one tradition that is held in one part of the world may not be held in another part. Some things are done because of a spiritual significance and are not rooted in the Torah itself. Such as wearing black for the Ukranian chassidim. Others are found in the Oral Law which is an elusidation on the written text. And things vary from sect to sect.

Such things as ritual slaughter. In on eplace in the Torah G-d tells them to slaughter the sacrifices as they were instructed. Well it doesn't give this information in the text but is in the Oral Law.

Many stem from the practice called 'building a fence around Torah'. They are ways of not only avoiding breaking of the law but a way that avoids the things that lead to breaking the law. If there is a dangerous cliff you can put a sign by the edge that says, "Danger: Cliff!" which is all well and good but you can still go right to the edge of the cliff and somehow fall. If you put a fence up a safe distance form the cliff with the sign you have a much greater chance of not fallinging off the cliff. Many of the things we non Jews see as wierd or silly are just that. An extra safegard against breaking the law. But really we should not view this as sillyness but as a reflection of how very important the law is to the observant Jew.

As far as your behavior in Israel I wouldn't worry too much about it. if you're not a Jew you aren't expected to do what they follow. The only thing that i could see being a problem is with the Orthodox Jews you do not touch or look at any woman that is not your wife, mother or daughter as a sign of respect. Just don't offer to shake an Orthodox woman's hand and avoid eye contact and you should be fine. israel is fairly westernized form all i've learned.

[standing_on_one_foot]

Originally Posted by jmaster78

I don't think it's witty, the necessity for the dot can be explained much easier than many of what seem like utterly pointless rabbinical rules and regulations. We know the web address won't work without the dot, but will tying your shoelace the wrong way really send you to hell? I'm not jewish by the way so could someone please tell me which page of the original mosaic law describes the correct knot to use.

Well, messing up doesn't send you to hell, so no big worries there...this has less to do with worrying about punishments in the afterlife and more to do with wanting to live your life correctly, make of that what you will.

But what it really comes down to is a few different things. One, it's an attempt to make and keep and notice holiness as a part of your everyday life. Whether you think the attempt is misguided or excessive is another question, but nevertheless, that incorporation of spirituality into life is the intent. Two, details really can matter; if you're really going to do something it's not unreasonable to want to do it properly and consistently. Three, like the song says, tradition, plus the whole "fence around the Torah" thing that's already been elaborated on.

Personally, I don't follow all the traditional rules. One of the enormous benefits of Reform Judaism, when done thoughtfully, is that it gives you the opportunity to really think about what you do and why. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't really take that opportunity, but the possibility is there.

[jmaster78]

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up. I thought it was a regulation that had been dropped from christian teaching. Sometimes i think of christianity as a watered down judaism, which is worrying cos you think 'how much has been dropped' that really needs to be followed. but being raised in a prodominently christian (thats a joke!) part of the world, i still don't understand the shoelace thing, certainly having structure or routine in your life is positive, but going as far as tying your shoe laces in a certain way seems close to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to an ignorant halfhearted christian like me. just so i know, what is the correct way? and i'm not being funny. even a web address would be great.