There is a Halacha that tells us that one should do Mitzvos even if they are not done for the right reasons. The right reasons of course is in service if God. That of course entails proper Halachic implementation and proper intent.
What if someone does a Mitzvah for strictly because he enjoys it. Let’s say he lights a Menorah because he wants to participate in the spirit of the ‘holiday season’ of the general community. Should he do so? Does that have any value? The Gemarah tells us that he should do it anyway because of the principle of Mitch She Lo L’Shma, Bah Lishmah. By doing the Mitzvah without the proper intent one will eventually come to do it with the proper intent.
That brings me to the fascinating phenomenon taking place in the non Orthodox Jewish world today. One that we ought to really pay attention to. There is an attitude among many secular Jews that have little or no connection with Torah Judaism.
There is a hunger to connect. A search for true meaning in life… and to understand what Judaism is all about. It extends beyond Reform Judaism to the entire secular world. Can anyone imagine a Yeshiva where Torah is taught to secular Jews? Well, such a place exists now. It is in Tel Aviv and is called BINA. Yes... secular Jew want to somehow connect too. As the head master of BINA states about his Yeshiva:
"The purpose is to make Judaism part of our daily lives from a moral and cultural perspective, not halachic (according to Jewish law)," headmaster Tal Shaked told ISRAEL21c. "Judaism belongs to everyone, not just the religious community."
This is beyond what a typical Baal Teshuva seeks. A Baal Teshuva seeks to become observant. Part of the motive might be to find meaning. But there are variety of reasons for it that go beyond searching for meaning.
I’m speaking about something else... a trend that does not automatically involve becoming observant.
I recently posted about the new Reform Siddur and how it has now incorporated much of what Reform Judaism has rejected in the past. This flows from the Reform desire to have a tangible means of expressing their Judaism. The ‘new guard’ of Reform Judaism realizes that being a Jew in the heart while rejecting all ritual is a prescription for extinction. That is the reason for this new Siddur and a new emphasis on observing Mitzvos.
To that end there was another fascinating article written by a Reform Rabbi that simply astounded me. Although he does not advocate Orthodoxy per say, he does think that Reform Jews should emulate the lifestyles of Orthodox Jew as it pertains to Shabbos. He then goes on to describe some of the wonderful benefits of doing so. Here is an excerpt that is the I believe is heart of his essay:
Second, and perhaps more important, letting Shabbat be Shabbat, instead of a schedule item to fit into the weekly grid, reorders priorities in a way that is spiritually and communally important. On an individual level, it forces me to set my own priorities straight. As readers of this column know, I work a lot, in several different fields, and without the forced interruption of the Sabbath, I might just work through the weekend, too. Surrendering to the schedule of Shabbat turns off the work machine, which is necessary for my better parts — the more loving, more human parts — to open. Jewish practice, whether religious or secular, isn’t meant to cater to our preferences; it’s meant to shape those preferences, educate us to be more ethical or more holy. It can’t do that when Judaism is itself molded around the whims and predilections of our agenda.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
He does say that he is not advocating Orthodoxy. If he were, then he wouldn’t be Reform but Orthodox. But he does observes and advocates the observance of Shabbos for Reform Jews for the most part. His observance may not be entirely Halachic, it does very strongly resemble it.
It is not that much of a leap to go from where he is at, to complete observance of Shabbos. He is certainly more than half way there. The problem of course is in the theology. His theology rejects observance as a requirement. And it is the requirement to serve God through his commandments that is the essence of Torah Judaism. So one can question whether there is any level of Mitzvah observance here anyway, But… if one uses the principle of MiToch SheLo L’Shma Bha L’shma. I think that a Reform Jew does get credit for observance even if it is only partial and not completely Halachic… as long as he is doing it for the sake of Shabbos.
I’d be willing to bet that if this Reform Rabbi is representative of the new wave of Reform Jews… and convinces enough Jews to observe Shabbos in this way, those Jews can easily be persuaded to become completely observant. Reform Jews should certainly be encouraged to do what this rabbi suggests. And to the extent we can help them we should. How? …is another question. We have no contact with the Reform movement. But we could. In my view this is yet another argument for engaging with them is some way. We ought to be exploiting this moment and not ignoring it.
