Radical Judaism_ Rethinking God and Tradition - Arthur Green [87]
In some vague and undirected ways we do see the Jewish witness to the need for change articulating itself. Bearers of Jewish names are prominent in all the Western movements for civil and human rights as well as for environmental protection. Some who carry those names are directly inspired by Jewish teaching; others, perhaps a majority, carry with them only a vague and highly secularized version of Jewish tribal memory, especially the memory of persecution. Cognizant of their own ancestors’ sufferings, they seek to avoid such a fate for others. The fact that large majorities of American Jews, despite their rising economic fortunes, continue to support liberal and generous programs of social welfare also speaks to the ongoing subtle proclamation of our truth. The prominence of Jews in antiwar activities, in environmentalist groups, and in other causes that seek to benefit humanity and the planet, all point in the same direction. The memory of slavery and liberation from Egypt is carved deeply in our souls, more deeply than we can see.
We need a Judaism that will speak fully to the values of these Jews, among whom I count myself. Caring for the needy and raising the banner of human dignity are mitzvot, part of what we are most essentially obliged to do as Jews. So too are protection of the planet and concern for future generations. We do them not because they are au courant or represent the best of liberal politics; we do them because they are the very foundation of Torah, the teaching of Ben Azzai applied to the new circumstances of the twenty-first century. Such a positive and assertive diaspora Judaism must apply itself to universal human questions and to the contemporary human situation. Of course, its responses will be in the language and symbols of our own tradition, presented richly and without diminution. These will require “translation” both for Jews and for non-Jews who do not speak their language, but that is precisely what the theologian is here to do.
Kabbalah, Heschel, and the Commandments
Judaism remains a religion of mitzvot, powerful religious deeds with which we respond to the divine call. The most characteristic religious act of Judaism is “doing a mitzvah,” a term that is sometimes extended beyond those things specifically commanded in the Torah. The tradition specifically values the Jews’ sense of being commanded, insisting, contrary to our instinct, that “greater is the one who is commanded and does than the one who does without command.”50 But once again I ask how we today might hear the commanding voice. And what forms does it inhabit?
As a student of Kabbalah, I recognize that the mystical tradition has always placed great emphasis on the mitzvot and their power. Indeed, “the reasons for the commandments” was one of the first topics discussed by the early Kabbalists. In performing a mitzvah, they claimed, one is actually giving something to God, affecting the balance of energies in the cosmic realm. This is the most powerful and distinctive motif in my teacher Abraham Joshua Heschel's theology, encapsulated by the phrase “God in Search of Man.”51
You will recall that my quest for a Jewish radical theology began with a question addressed to Heschel more than forty years ago. Heschel represented a unique strain within Jewish moral theology. Deeply shaped by the prophets (as well as by the experience of fleeing Nazi Europe), Heschel was allied with the most progressive American forces in opposing racism and unjust war. His closeness to Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr. was well known and defined much of his public image. But that same prophetic influence made Heschel seem like something of a theological conservative. He spoke of a God who is personally concerned with and affected by human actions. He saw God as One who creates each human in the divine image so that we may fulfill the