In Defense of Tradition - A Rebuttal of Rabbi Barry Silver
In a recent article by Rabbi Barry Silver (Jewish Journal, October 23, 2019) he posits a novel theory regarding the core reasons for anti-semitism. He writes that “the cure is readily apparent, which is for Jews to abandon the childish conceit that our imaginary father in the sky wrote the Bible.” His approach casts aspersions on all religions that believe in the divine origins of the Bible. He claims that Jews’ belief that their bible is divine has perpetuated a ‘myth’ and led Christians and Muslims to believe that their testaments were of divine origin, as well. His theory continues and states that when Christian or Muslim scriptures denigrate Jews it must stem from a divine dislike of Jews and Judaism. Hence, if Jews would only denounce their faith in the divinity and deny the legitimacy of the Torah, all other religions would have to follow suit and the basis for anti-semitism would implode.
I rarely, if ever, openly criticize rabbis, regardless of whether I strongly disagree with them. But Rabbi Silver’s words are so dangerous that it would be remiss of me to remain silent. Obviously for a rabbi to refer to Hashem as an imaginary father in the sky raises a red flag. Moreover, I can’t comprehend how a rabbi could place blame on the victims of humanity's greatest crime instead of the perpetrators of evil. His hypothesis serves to continue sowing seeds of animus against Judaism’s devout. He condemns their retention and connection to a faith that has spanned four millennium because in his infinite wisdom the Torah and its principles are essentially outdated and untrue. In his globalist theory of Judaism void of Torah and Mitzvot and a creative God, what exactly is ‘Jewish’ about his rabbinate or philosophy? Shouldn’t referring to one’s self as rabbi denote a certain theological commitment to the faith of his ancestors?
Furthermore, to imagine that if Jews denounce their allegiance to what Rabbi Silver refers to as a myth, Christians and Muslims would care, defies all historical evidence to the contrary. Hitler (may his memory be blotted out) cared less if Jews renounced any connection to their ancestral links and openly abandoned the ‘myth’ of Moses. Sadly, all people with Jewish blood regardless of their current adherence were dehumanized and murdered in gas chambers. During the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions the newly converted Christians were treated with disdain and humiliation even though they abandoned all connection to Judaism. Kowtowing to others as a means of currying favor rarely accomplished its intended goal. Anti Jewish sentiment remains as virulent as before while those Jews who tried currying favor eventually fail to find a home in either culture.
Barry Silver has the chutzpah and audacity to suggest that four thousand years of rabbinical belief is a myth; that all the rabbis from time immemorial were naive and incorrect. Moses, Elijah (not Cummings), Rabbi Akiva, and Maimonides were all simpletons and only Rabbi Silver has the superior intelligence to discern fact from fiction. For me that’s a leap of faith I just can’t fathom. On the contrary, the only myth I would be willing to consider is the ‘myth’ of Barry Silver’s title. His congregation may call him a rabbi and its name L’dor V’dor may sound ethnically Jewish but claiming a descendancy and a link to previous generations is the antithesis of everything for which he stands. He and those with similar mindsets have disassociated with the traditional Judaism of previous generations. The Torah and its laws have been replaced with a Tikkun Olam philosophy. Kashrut is irrelevant and family purity is an antiquated nonsense.
I agree with one of Barry Silver’s proposals: let’s finally have enough confidence in our traditions and beliefs to confront the myth of those who call themselves rabbis and claim to speak on behalf of the Jewish community. A rose by any other name may still be a rose but unfortunately a rabbi, even when referred to as a rabbi, may be anything but that.
