But there are increasing numbers of Jews that do not believe
that. They are usually intelligent and thoughtful ones. Those that see
evidence (or lack of it) that makes them cast doubt on these things. Some become
atheists, others re-invent the theology to fit with the new information. That
is what the Conservative Movement does. And that is what James Kugel and Zev
Farber did.
This is increasingly becoming a factor in the OTD (Off The
Derech) phenomenon. There are many reasons why people go OTD. They include
dysfunctional families; victims of sex or physical abuse; victims of an
educational system that does not speak to them – allowing them to fall through
the cracks; and some just want to get out of a stifling environment.
But in an increasing number of cases, truly thoughtful
people with big questions are finding answers that steer them away from belief.
Especially when they do not get satisfactory answers from their teachers.
There has been much discussion among Jewish educators about
how to deal with the OTD problem. I don’t think that there is a silver bullet
approach to a phenomenon with so many different causes. There has to be a multi
pronged approach. We need to deal with each element of cause separately since
they are not necessarily related. Some are a bit easier to deal with than others.
Issues like family dysfunction seem to have a more hopeful
solution- if not necessarily an easy one. But at least we know that getting a
child out of a dysfunctional situation will go a long way towards preventing
him from leaving the fold.
Abused children are a bit more difficult. We have a long way
to go before we can achieve the kind of love and acceptance of victims of abuse
that would keep them in the fold. The usual state of affairs tends to victimize
a survivor of abuse even more.
That of course further alienates them form staying the
course of religious observance. Having been treated like a pariah who accuses 'innocent' people – often people of great stature – of horrible crimes tends to spawn
disbelief and denial in their communities which turns the victim into a
victimizer. But even there as hard as it is, we know the solution. It is to
treat the victim like a victim and the abuser like the sick criminal that he
is. And to embrace the survivor with love, compassion, and to assure the therapeutic rehabilitation
of his self image.
When it comes to those children who fall through the cracks
of the Jewish educational system, that too has a solution. Even though it is an
uphill battle to train teachers to teach to every child and not just the bright
and motivated students, that can eventually be fixed. There are some very good
teachers that do that now, the rest need to be trained to do it. Those that can’t
be trained need to be weeded out of the system.
In my view the biggest problem is among the very bright
students who seek answers to serious questions and don’t get them. We want to
the brightest Jews among us to contribute their talents to Judaism. But they are
the ones most difficult to keep.
There too the answer lies in our educational system. How,
for example, do we answer a student that realizes that the universe is about 15
billion years old – when the Torah teaches that it is only about 6000 years
old? How does evolution fit in with creation? What about the bible critics that
show literary evidence that the Torah was written in different periods in
history by different people? What about geological findings that contradict
things like the Mabul? Or archaeological digs that question the occurrence of
major events in the Torah like Yitzias Mitzraim (the Exodus from Egypt) of the
Jewish people?
There are a host of questions like this. They are genuine
and being asked by serious people with no other agenda other than trying to
find the truth.
For me - this is the biggest problem of all. I too have
these questions. And yet I am a believer. Why I am - is for another time. I’ve
discussed it before. But this topic is beyond the scope of this post.
The fact is that there are many very smart people who have
these questions and remain believers. That’s because they did not automatically
accept the conclusions those outside the communities of faith have offered.
While these answers may satisfy the questions, they are not the only answers to
those questions. There are many possible ways to explain contradictions between
science and Torah. Or to disagree with the bible critics whose conclusions are
not conclusively proved.
Furthermore what many people think is a contradiction –
really isn’t. For example the age of the universe and the theory of evolution do
not necessarily contradict Jewish theology.
In my view, there has to be a serious effort at re-educating
the educators. This means that an oft given response by a teacher that a question itself is
Apikursus has to be jettisoned from the educational playbook. This response is –
in my view – the single biggest turn off to a serious student seeking truth.
Telling him that the question is Apikursus implies that his deepest and most sincere
questions makes him an Apikores.
The correct approach is to listen to the question and treat
it just as legitimately as a Kashe on a Tosephos; to be trained to answer them
in ways that will not turn a student away from Judaism; and to be honest enough
with a student to tell him if he doesn’t have an answer.
And many questions do have satisfactory answers. For example
the age of the universe. When a student discovers that scientific evidence
shows that the universe is about 15 billion years old, a religious teacher has
to acknowledge that it can very well be the case. And that believing it does
not contradict the Torah.
The days where one can teach the kind of dogma that the universe
is unquestioningly 6000 years old are over. The internet has changed that
educational paradigm forever. Evolution must be taught in the context of our theology
of creation. Knowing how to answer the bible critics has to be learned. All
this should be a mandatory training for all future Mechanchim, no matter what
stripe of Judaism, Chasidic, Charedi, or Modern Orthodox. Because the internet
is there for all to access. And you don’t want that to be the only source of
answers to those questions.
As we enter the season of Kabbolas HaTorah this evening – I hope
that our educators will re-dedicate themselves to teaching Torah in ways that
will prevent any further erosion of belief among our young.
Good Yom Tov.
