In Jewish organizational life, one sometimes hears the claim that there are as many ways of being Jewish as there are Jews. This exaggeration contains a kernel of truth. Because no one central Jewish authority exists to define acceptable dogma or practice, excommunications, which rarely happen, have no widely accepted authority and are localized. In the 17th century, the Amsterdam Jewish community excommunicated the Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza. In the 20th century the modernizing Jewish Reform movement, which considers Jewish law not binding, but a matter of individual choice, faced vigorous, sometimes acrimonious, opposition from traditionalists who labelled it a heretical, non-Jewish sect.
Today Spinoza is widely respected as a philosopher in most Jewish circles, and Reform Judaism is the largest Jewish denomination in North America.
Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism recognized that Judaism is a culture that is much broader than religion, and as a religion, is more focused on action than on dogma. Especially today, many who identify as Jewish are not religious at all. But the sacred texts of Judaism such as the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud are an inextricable part of Jewish culture. So are the festivals and holidays, such as Passover and Hanukkah. Of course, Jewish culture also has many entirely secular elements. There is a strong secular Jewish tradition of free thinkers from Spinoza to the Israeli writer Amos Oz . Secular, Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants to North America made major contributions to the labour movement and were involved in a variety of progressive causes. There is a vast Jewish secular literature in both Hebrew and Yiddish and, of course, in English and other languages. Klezmer music is a distinctive style of Jewish music that originated in Eastern Europe and incorporates elements of the folk music of the peoples—Greeks, Romanians, Slavs and others—among whom Jews lived.
Recognizing this complexity of Jewish culture, Andrew Muchin, his partner Laura Rosenberg, and Farley Cates have come together with others to launch the Victoria Jewish Culture Project. They identify both as Jews and as secular humanists and consider Judaism an ethnic culture created by the Jewish people and shaped by Jewish experience.
The VJCP is intended to be a space for cultural Jews whose worldviews are secular to engage with Jewish religious texts, festivals and holidays and interpret them in ways that relate to contemporary issues, especially issues of social justice. The organizers hope to create an inclusive and caring community to share the history, and culture of all Jews, religious and secular. In addition to secular celebrations of the Jewish holidays of Hanukkah and Purim, the VJCP has held a weekly virtual Torah study since last March. The Project will hold a virtual Passover Seder (ceremonial meal) on Sunday, March 28 that will explore universal themes of freedom. There will also be celebrations of secular Jewish, especially Yiddish, culture, in poetry, music , lectures and discussions. Once Covid restrictions ease, events will be open to the public.
Secular, humanistic Judaism is itself an integral part of Jewish tradition. Regarding the tradition, Rabbi Adam Chalom, North American Dean of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism put it best:
“There is no one tradition, no single understanding of Jewish history and Jewish identity, unless we define it as an active debate about Jewish identity. That’s the tradition – to argue about the tradition. Because of that tradition, we have every right to stand up for our values, to celebrate our connections through our beliefs, and to learn from our heritage as we choose.”
For more information about VJCP and its activities, email [email protected]
Alan Rutkowski is connected with the Victoria Society for Humanistic Judaism and a founding member the Victoria Jewish dialogue group, If Not Now, When? He has contributed articles to the online edition of the American Journal, Jewish Currents.
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* This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, March 20th 2021
