“We don’t really fit the categories of the West, and I’m ok with that. The Torah calls us an ‘Am,’ which loosely translates ‘a people,’ but it’s a Hebrew term, it has its own valence. So, Judaism is a nexus of history, religion, peoplehood, culture, shared destiny…I think in some ways, ethnicity rose  again in the 70s and 60s, but for a lot of of our people its not a driving force now. And I’m ok with that, because I’m ok with Judaism being seen more as a Wisdom tradition. But that Wisdom tradition includes a healthy regard for shared heritage and shared destiny, which means we have the quirky traits of a people too—we have a disproportionate caring for the land of Israel and what happens there, and that’s weird but it’s us. We have certain food that we like and dislike, and that’s us…we do have certain ways of talking and certain kinds of humor…and people can join us! So I think for Jews it’s actually kind of healing to focus on the Wisdom of our tradition, rather than just on shtick and humor or whatever. And the ongoing challenge for our non-Jewish friends is to use our refusal to let go of our ethnic particularities as an invitation to celebrate your own.”

The above quote is transcribed from an interview Rabbi Brad Artson did on Homebrewed Christianity. I’ve known about Rabbi Artson for quite a while through his writing on process-relational philosophy, but this was the first time I’ve heard an interview with him. He’s a great thinker and I will be adding his new book to my wishlist.

…

Painting above by: Maurycy Gottlieb

Tags:cultureethnicityJudaismparticularismRabbi Brad Artsonwisdom