ONE chilly Saturday afternoon, I had the chance to engage in a different kind of Torah study. I met with a group of interfaith friends, an eclectic collection of Jews, Sufis, Baptists, and a few lapsed Catholics thrown in for good measure.
Our guide was a liberal Catholic priest and our agenda was to explore the different dogmas of each religion a daunting task made easier by the presence of Starbucks coffee and a box of Dunkin Donuts.
It didnt take long for me to hear a theme emerge from my non-Jewish friends: They felt disappointed, frustrated and even angry because, as children, they were prohibited from or punished for asking simple and honest questions like:
How could a baby who isnt baptized and doesnt know about G-d be destined to Hell?
Or, on the lighter side: If the Bible is history, then where did all the women come from who gave birth to all the children?
As our conversation progressed, it struck me how differently Judaism approaches the idea of asking questions about faith, religious beliefs, accepted practices, even about the concept of God.
In the Jewish tradition, uncertainty and doubt are not signs of religious heresy; they are the basis of true discernment and understanding. To question is to be human: to ask why of G-d, of our tradition, of our rabbis and teachers, is encouraged because Judaism is designed to reach us where we live, in the trenches of our hearts and our lives, in the midst of our uncertainty, anger, fear and doubt.
The rest of this article is available in the IJN’s print edition only. Contact Carol to order your copy at (303) 861-2234 or email [email protected].
