[Avodah] Judaism is not a Religion?

[via Avodah]

"Judaism is not a religion, the synagogue is not a church, and the
rabbi is not a priest. Judaism is not a mere adjunct to life: it
comprises all of life."

Rav Hirsch is not the only one to assert that Judaism is not a
religion. The following is from today's Hakhel email bulletin.

To say Judaism is not a religion flies in the face of everything
we?ve been taught about ?religion.?

In the following accepted definition, I would like to know how WE
are NOT included:

Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity.
A given religion is defined by specific elements of a community of believers: dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, sacrament, moral prescription, interdicts, organization.
The majority of religions have developed starting from a Revelation based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life.

A religion may be defined with its three great characteristics:
? Believes and religious practices
? The religious feeling i.e. faith
? Unity in a community of those who share the same faith. It is what differentiates religion from magic.


What is also interesting is the following: HIGHLIGHT QUOTES FROM THE RECENT HAKHEL YARCHEI KALLAH:

3. Rabbi Avraham Chaim Feuer, Shlita: Yiddishkeit is not a religion.
Its definition is a live connection to Hashem!

Interestingly, the WORD ?Religion? has the etymology of ?Connection?
The word ?Ligament? is a short band of tough CONNECTIVE tissue that
CONNECTS two bones or cartilages or holds together a joint. So yes, indeed,
R? Chaim Feuer is correct that its definition is a live CONNECTION to Hashem.
THAT is the meaning of ?Religion.?

Richard Wolberg
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[Simon Montagu via Avodah]

Try searching Google for "is not a religion". Before I even get to the
results, the suggestions that pop up include "Christianity is not a
religion", "Islam is not a religion" and "Buddhism is not a religion".

Apparently one of the things all religions have in common is that
they're not a religion! ;-)

[Prof. Levine via Avodah]

Post by via Avodah
"Judaism is not a religion, the synagogue is not a church, and the
rabbi is not a priest. Judaism is not a mere adjunct to life: it
comprises all of life."
Rav Hirsch is not the only one to assert that Judaism is not a
religion. The following is from today's Hakhel email bulletin.
To say Judaism is not a religion flies in the face of everything
we?ve been taught about ?religion.
In the following accepted definition, I would like to know how WE
Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that
define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity.

RSRH points out that all religion is based on man's view of
HaShem. Judaism is HaShem's view of man. There is a world of difference.

Based on this he correctly assets that Judaism is not a religion.

See http://web.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/sivan_1.pdf

Post by via Avodah
Hirsch was clearly contrasting Judaism -- which suffuses every waking
moment of a Jew's life, eating, sleeping, at work and at play -- with the kind
of religion that imposes minimal obligations...

There is much more to Judaism not being a religion than This. Please
see my response to Cantor Wolberg and the essay I referred him to.

YL

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

To recap from where this thread began, I think we went in a number
of false directions. The opening quote (Judaism Eternal, pg 103):
: "Judaism is not a religion, the synagogue is not a church, and the
: rabbi is not a priest. Judaism is not a mere adjunct to life: it
: comprises all of life."
...

So how did we get to:
: In the following accepted definition, I would like to know how WE

I think that Rav Hirsch meant it exactly in the same way the German
reporters recently used it, namely, to contrast it with Christianity's
compartimentalization of the sacred and the prophane ("give unto caesar
what caesar is due"), while some other religions see their system of
thought as being more all encompassing. In that manner, Islam resembles
Judaism...

RSRH didn't talk here about it being G-d's Anthropology whereas religion is
Man's Theology. (Although that would mean Buddhism isn't a religion?)
That's a distinction RSRH makes elsewhere, in his first essay for
Sivan, sec 2, pg 185 (Ar Prof Levine's site,
<http://web.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/sivan_1.pdf>.

In short, RSRH says "Judaism is not a religion" more than once, each
time tells you what he means, and it's not always the same distinction
being drawn.

But the choice between "Judaism is not a religion" and "Judaism is very
different than other religions" is a pedagogic one. Since RSRH tells us
the exact distinction he means each time, it's not about the "category"
religion.

GCT!
-Micha