Image by iStock

Adam Chalom August 26, 2020

Dear Editor,

Congratulations on your “Still, Small Voice” initiative to explore varieties of Jewish beliefs about God. I am sure you will find some interesting perspectives on this issue.

However, you are missing important Jewish voices by only including those who believe in God. Pew’s 2013 A Portrait of Jewish Americans gave respondents three options. It asked if they believe in God or universal spirit with absolutely certainty, if they believe but are less certain, “on the fence,” as it were, or if they do not believe at all.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Even with available options of “universal spirit” and “not sure,” almost one in four chose “do not believe.” Another way to think about it: Twice as many American Jews say they do not believe in a God (23%) as identify as Orthodox (10%)!

If you want to explore the question, “What do Jews miss without belief?” you really should ask some “non-believing Jews” (or differently-believing Jews, since even secular people have positive beliefs) for their views.

Would you pose the question, “What do Jews miss without binding halacha [religious law]” without asking Reform or Reconstructing Jews to comment? Or only ask Israeli Jews, “What do Diaspora Jews miss by not being in Israel?”

In 2011, Moment Magazine ran a cover story and essay contest on “Can There be Judaism Without Belief in God?” Their initial contributions did not include any voices involved in Secular or Humanistic Jewish communities or national organizations. As I wrote in my submission,

If the only ways to be Jewish demand a belief in God, Judaism is in trouble…. If the way we live our lives and make sense of the universe focuses on human needs, human justice, human knowledge and human responsibility, then a Judaism beyond God is not only possible; it is necessary.

Perhaps this is beyond the scope of your project. But if one theme of the moment is including marginalized voices in conversations about them, then a complete spectrum of Jewish perspectives on God should include those of us who celebrate their Jewishness focused on people, not prayer.

For us, that “still, small voice” of conscience and inspiration comes from within ourselves and from each other.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Adam Chalom

Dean of International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, North America

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount