What if "to be Jewish" were based on behavior rather than dogma?
Dr. Ellis Rivkin researched and taught Jewish history at Cincinnati’s Hebrew Union College. His unique perspective was gained through tracking structural change within the Jewish people in response to events and environmental adjustments such as the transition from agricultural realities to cities and urban life, expanding and deteriorating economies. In response to the global impact of the ever-changing world of technology, Professor Rivkin defined being Jewish as follows:
A Visual Experiment:
We can create visual images of each point in Dr. Rivkin’s definition of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.
“If a man strikes many coins from one mold, they all resemble one another, but the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, made each man in the image of Adam, and yet not one of them resembles his fellow.” (Sanhedrin 37a:13-15)
“I engage the Bible in creative play through both my conceptual and artistic explorations. Lest the reader views my playing with the Holy Scriptures as irreverent and sacrilegious, I show how the Bible itself teaches us to approach it in a playful spirit. In Psalm 119:174, we read: “Your Torah is my plaything (sha’ashua).”
“Sha’ashua is a toy to engage children in play. In Proverbs 8:30, 31, King Solomon speaks in the voice of the Torah: “I [the Torah] was the artist’s plan. I was His [God’s] delight every day, playing before Him at all times, playing in the inhabited areas of His earth, my delights are with human beings.”
Mel Alexenberg, Artist and Jewish Thinker
"Tze Ulemad" - 'Go out and Learn' means to leave one's comfort zone. Travel is but one means; reading and viewing are others.
Viktor Frankl, author of "Man's Search for Meaning," and a Holocaust survivor, taught us important life lessons:
- Frankl emphasized the importance of striving for a meaningful goal, rather than seeking a tensionless state of happiness or comfort.
- Suffering can cease to be suffering when it is imbued with meaning, such as the purpose of a sacrifice.
- The ultimate freedom lies in choosing one's attitude in any circumstance, highlighting the power of personal responsibility and the pursuit of meaning.