Rabbi's Musings

Is Judaism a Nation or a Religion?

The recent executive order – or at least the hubbub surrounding it -- calls forth the question of identity. Irrespective of how one feels about the order – or the source from which it came – are we a nation or are we a religion? The answer is complicated. Until the nineteenth century, we were both. Indeed, the question itself would have been absurd. It would be like when the fish asks the other fish, “How’s the water today?” and the response is, “What’s water?” We were not allowed to be anything but both a nation and a religion, so we didn’t ponder the choice. In the modern era, choices were made. Classical Reform Judaism declared we were a religion. Political Zionism said we were a nation. Of course, Hitler didn’t care that Judaism was a religion and not a race or nation. And there are plenty of religious Zionists today.

As we near the holiday of Chanukah it is instructive to remember that the miracle of the oil was not only that it lasted for eight days instead of one. The miracle was also the type of oil used – it was pure. Hence the moral of Chanukah, in part, is to act with integrity. To be a Jew is not merely to be a supporter of a Jewish State or the Jewish Faith. It is to act with integrity, to keep a high standard of ideals. Judaism should never be reduced to an accident of birth.

Chanukah celebrates Maccabean might as well as miraculous light, but the might of the Maccabees is only impressive when tied to the values they originally embodied. They revolted against tyranny and cultural oppression. They were devoted to monotheism and the mitzvot.

In the end, it is not only about how they fought but for what they fought.

So, to return to the question of who Jews really are, a nation or a religion, I would consider the definition of Jews by the late, great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “We are the messengers who forgot the message.”

And so, I ask us to remember our message and to share it with the world. That is what makes us Jewish.