Last Friday, thirteen participants gathered via Zoom for the Noon Study Group’s inaugural discussion of Noah Feldman’s To Be A Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People. We began with some background information on the author. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, Feldman holds degrees in Near Eastern languages and civilizations from Harvard and Oxford Universities and a law degree from Yale. Before joining the faculty at NYU Law School, he served as a law clerk for two judges. Feldman is the author of ten books and a contributing writer for several distinguished journals. He is the founder of Harvard’s Julius-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law and the university’s Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law. There’s not much question that Noah Feldman is well-credentialed. As we read, we will determine how well-balanced his views are. Following his marriage to a non-Jew, Feldman has taken issue on the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion in Modern Orthodoxy, views that have been challenged by a number of critics.
We then turned to the first chapter of our book, “The God of Black and White,” Feldman’s examination of various forms of Jewish Orthodoxy, which he discusses under an umbrella of “Traditionalism.” Essentially, he defines this as a “complete inner commitment to the unbroken tradition of Jewish belief and practice” carried down from God to Moses to influential and revered rabbis, leaders, and Jewish scholars. Some time was spent discussing distinctions to be made among various forms of Jewish Orthodoxy. Recognizing that all denominations of Judaism manifest subtle—and not so subtle—differences, we considered some broad distinctions:
Ultra-Orthodox Hasidism focuses more (but not entirely) on emotion and spiritual experience, sometimes placing mystical beliefs over strict intellectual interpretation of law.
Non-Hasidic Orthodoxy (practices that are known as Litvish or Yeshivish) emphasizes religious conservatism and places a high value on continuous Torah and Talmudic Study and opposes excessive emotionalism.
Modern Orthodoxy attempts to synthesize Jewish values and law with modern life and secular knowledge (“Torah Umaddah”).
Feldman asserts that for Traditionalists, God is “a God of law and love whose ways can be known [and whose] gracious commandments can be satisfyingly followed. . . . God’s authority is primary, primordial, and absolute.” His realm is not a democracy—we accept the yoke of his authority.
Needless to say, just the opening ten pages gave us plenty to ponder.
This Friday, we will conclude our discussion of Chapter 1 (pp.30-46) and then get a start on Feldman’s second chapter, “The God of Social Justice” (pp.47-67)
Our informal discussion group, which is currently in its 26th year, meets via Zoom every Friday from 12-1 (check CBI’s web site or weekly announcements for updates and a link). All are welcome to attend. Feldman’s book, which is available through a variety of internet book dealers. If you have questions, contact Jay Jacoby atjbjacoby@charlotte.edu.
