Seven Principles of Faith

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.

I read a funny story: A lifelong backslider suddenly “saw the light” and approached the local rabbi.

“Rabbi, from now on I will attend synagogue services regularly,” he promised.

“I’m glad to hear that,” smiled the wise old rabbi, “but remember – going to synagogue doesn’t make you a Jew any more than going to a poultry farm makes you a chicken!”

I thought of this joke when I read a letter to the editor in Moment magazine, March/April, 2009 issue. The writer was responding to an article written by Eric Alterman, “What do non-Orthodox Jews believe?” (“The Secular Spirit of Judaism,” January/February 2009)

She proceeds to illustrate her “Principles of Faith” accordingly:

1. Kindness and courtesy are more important than kashruth.
2. Caring for human needs is more important than being frum.
3. Being part a part of a Jewish community and attending services Friday night and Torah study on Saturday are more important than not traveling on the Sabbath.
4. Wearing a sheitel does not make you pious and using Tefillin does not keep you honorable.
5. Mikvot, like Christian Baptism, cannot alone bring spiritual cleanliness.
6. Watch what you say rather than what you eat.
7. Dress with normal modesty rather than with elaborate cultural elements.

In conclusion, she writes, “In short, I choose to be a Jew and believe my creator will know my heart from my deeds rather than from my diet or dress.”

I must confess that part of me wants to applaud this woman for her ability to clarify in her mind the essence of connectivity and completeness in being a person of faith. And there is a part of me that wants to suggest that while some of these trappings are not in themselves the answer to the true understanding of life they are designed to help us create a life of faith.

Trappings were designed to remind us of our obligation to accomplish the ultimate in human relationships. Some of these traditions and customs were put in place to assist us in completing our partnership with the creator. Many of the obligations outlined in the Torah and explained in the Midrash and Talmud were established to enable us to concentrate on our heritage and fulfillment as Jews.

However, sometimes we get trapped by the “trappings” to the extent that they become the end all to our religious experience. We, at times, are more concerned with outward appearance than inward feelings of compassion. And for some the outward appearance is an identifying moment and not a means to establish true brotherhood and fellowship.

The Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of the Hassidic movement, once wrote that the Talmud informs us that Moses was given the key to forty-nine doors out of fifty. And, of course, the question is asked that since we human beings always want to know more and more, how was it possible for Moses to pass through the fiftieth door?

He continues his story indicating that we wonder what happened when Moses came to fiftieth door and found it locked to the mind of man. And we learn that Moses replaced understanding with faith and began his meditation over again.

The lesson the Ba’al Shem Tov taught was that every one of us should train our minds. We should learn and reflect to the best of our capacity, but when we reach a point where we are unable to make sense of life, we should supplant faith for understanding and reflect again on what we do know.

I can think of no better way to comprehend the meaning of life, our obligations to one another and our responsibility to faith. Perhaps that is what this woman was trying to impart.

Faith has many doors. It is up to us to approach these doors with the hope that behind them are answers we may not understand but we need to learn to be able to perceive the meaning of faith.. Perhaps what she was saying is that to get to the other side of the door does not require a code of dress or a closed mind or rituals that have no significance if they are not accompanied by true intent.

Even our Prophets explained that on Yom Kippur all the fasting in the world will not mean anything if it is not connected to honesty of purpose. God doesn’t need our prayers or our rituals unless it is combined with concern for the dignity of the human spirit and the response to those in need of Tikun Olam, the repair in the tear of human suffering.

Seven principles of faith. They do not supplant anything. They help us realize who we are and our purpose as part of creation.