Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Price of Admission

So, my uninformed view on Orthopraxy got me thinking about orthopraxis.

That is, what is the role of "doing the right thing" within a community?

And it's kindof like the cost of a ticket into a community.

"Nu, where are you staying for Shabbas?"

Man, these people care. They are all dedicated to a higher cause. The covenental community is one that seeks to ameliorate ontological loneliness, united towards the same cause.

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Do you need to be Jewish to be able to reap the benefits of our cultural heritage? Like, just how far, without any faith or obedience to our laws, could a person go?

Obviously, we live in a world with Judeo-Christian values, so most of the "good stuff", like "No murder" is already in the public sphere.

But take the Talmud. If it's just the scribblings of ancient Rabbis, how much can you appreciate it?

I'm not going to suggest faith and mitzvot are required to appreciate our cultural heritage. But they do seem to make it much easier. When the laws that governed the Rabbis are your laws, when the G-d they worship and died for is your G-d, when the morals of the stories aren't just nice abstractions but concrete values you are supposed to integrate into your everyday life - well, that sure makes it alot easier to be a Jew.

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