Anon asked Staff ago I was wondering if you could explain the concept of a Jewish atheist in all its aspects. I find it difficult to connect the two parts in cases of extreme atheists who feel no tie to Judaism or anything which ties them to the nation — faith, religion, tradition — and therefore do not uphold it in any way. What makes them Jewish and not Israeli? (Aside from circumcision or a birth ceremony for a girl?)
[You could look at this as a question of who is a Jew (on a mental level) from the view of extreme atheism.]
Thanks in advance!
Hadar
jsadmin Staff answered 20 years ago
Dear Hadar,
In your question you mix concepts which have nothing to do with each other.
To emphasize the lack of relationship between atheism and nationality, let us define the concepts.
Atheist: Does not believe in a supernatural entity, but treats nature as he finds it and as it is understood by humans. He sees people as the supreme value and takes full responsibility for his life, without relying upon another entity to intervene in what happens to us. Man’s happiness, individually and as a society, is his goal and purpose, not the happiness of G-d.
Nation: A group of people who feel a collective, mutual connection and responsibility. In general, their language, dress, country, past, and aspirations for the future are the same.
A person can feel part of the Jewish people regardless of whether he is a theist or an atheist, and a person can see himself as not belonging to the current Jewish nation, even if he fulfill the least of the commandments with the same zeal as the strictest. An example of this is the Neturei Karta, who d not feel a part of the current Jewish nation (of which a majority do not fulfill Torah and the commandments); they have chosen to remain a secessionist cult with no connection to Zionism or to Jews in the modern sense of the word.
To make our words more pointed, we will bring an example from the world of sport (even though it is not like a nation): Fans of a specific team will feel a certain team spirit and community, for their aspirations (the team’s victories) and disappointments (the team’s defeats) are similar. The question of their beliefs in G-d is irrelevant. Similarly, the connection to the Jewish people is not dependant on the faith of a person; that is his personal business.
You must understand that the concept of nationality has undergone a historic change. If before the Jewish nation was defined by the fulfillment of the Torah and its commands (even though their language, dress, and countries were different), in the modern era nationality is defined with no relation to religion or faith (which are the private business of each individual) but by new criteria — language, dress, symbols, shared past and present, shared territory… (Since these criteria are behavioral, and since man does not live by reason alone, and since logic is not generally that which unifies individuals into a society, they are not hard and fast rules; it is possible that nationality can exist with only some of these components.)
In other words: Since religion became faith and because faith is the private experience of man, the definition of Jewish nationality does not depend on faith and religion. Since the modern Jewish nation grew out of a mutual desire to build a home for the Jewish nation, faith and religions have lost their position and influence on the Jewish nation; what remains is just a memory of the past and shared symbols.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet