World Religions- Huston Smith

You are to read the chapter on Judaism with specific purpose and focus. For each of Smith's chapters he highlights sections with headings, such as "Meaning in God" or "Meaning in Creation".

By Monday, December 7th:
Read 282 (starting with "Meaning in History") and finishing on page 293 before starting "meaning in suffering".

For each you are not assigned to get everything discussed in each part of the reading but to focus on describing a main aspect of what Smith is presenting.

You are to answer (in a brief paragraph) questions centered on each of the following concepts Smith introduces:


1.In Judaism what is the meaning in history

Smith discusses the fact that in religions like Hinduism there is the idea of maya, which is the theory that the world is an illusion and it runs in a circular pattern, and humans are trying to escape into Brahma. Greek philosophers look at the world as a natural process which always recurs, however, a philosopher can escape by focusing on the absolute. In Judaism God is present in events of great importance, which do not repeat. Therefore in Judaism, history is of great importance, since these meaningful events where God is present do not repeat. Hence, since these events hold great significance, there are important lessons to learn from them. Lessons we can apply to our everyday life, and ones God believes are essential for us to learn. In the Hebrew Bible, context is also very important, because events wouldn't make sense if they were out of context. Also, working together is highly emphasized since many events occured because of cooperation on a large scale. Another theme Smith brings up is the concept of the "is" rather than the "ought". This is an idea in the Indian and Middle Eastern religions that is contrasted in Judaism. This is the theory that we need to accept what is rather than what should be. In Judaism, the belief is to focus on the "ought", and try to create a better world.

2.In Judaism what is the meaning in morality

Smith explains that morals are essential for human relations, and that in Judaism 613commandments were written to regulate human behavior. Though this is a lot, there are 4 main categories or "Danger Zones" of the 10 commandments that have influenced the Western world greatly. These four zones are: force, wealth, sex and speech.
For example, force if left unchecked, anger and hatred can destroy a community by spreading from just one act of violence. Revenge and historical feuds continue unless stopped in their tracks. As for wealth, sex and speech, the same thought applies, that one extreme act of any of these categories can spread throughout a community to levels that can not be handled. When a community leaves these for "danger zones" unchecked and lets all their people go free and do as they please, the society will self destruct. The Ten Commandments provide the minimum standards in these four areas, and are a natural written law that was made logically to help communities survive. Therefore, the Ten Commandments are essential to the survival of human kind throughout the ages, because they are a timeless and universal law, followed by all living creatures.

On another notes,Smith compares humans and animals to show that God gave humans an extra challenge of trying to keep all four of these "danger zones" in check, whereas animals have a natural order in which these four "danger zones" are automatically regulated in their behavior.


3.In Judaism what is the meaning in Justice?

To determine the role of justice, we must examine the roles of prophets throughout history as they were God's illustration and demonstration to humans of events that would teach mankind lessons essential for their survival and betterment as a race.
The original meaning of "prophet" is "someone who speaks for others". However, this definition has evolved into meaning "someone who speaks for God". In ancient Israel there was a prophetic movement composed of three stages. The first is the Prophetic Guilds. In this stage, prophecy was seen as a group phenomenon, where bands of prophets would create a large movement that would spur change. The thought was that if they worked together, they would lose their self-consiousness and become one divine force. The second stage was that of Pre-Writing Prophets, where ethics entered the arena. As an individual prophet, one could communicate with God more clearly, and the messages were not just those of emotional feeling, but of actual words and direction. These Pre-Writing prophets challenged individuals on their actions. Smith uses the story of Naboth to explain how a small peasant could tell the King that what he was doing was wrong, and be respected by the King, even though he himself had no official power to stand up. The third stage was that of the Writing Prophets. Writing Prophets challenged societal corruptions, rather than individuals as the Pre-Writing prophets did. This was much more difficult to do because the wrongdoings were concealed within an entire society, and were more subtle.
Danger played another role in the action of morals and justice. For example, when neighboring countries tried to conquer Israel, wars ravaged and it became difficult to stick to morals because the common belief of the time was that whoever fought better had the greater power. This simplistic belief didn't hold much meaning or opportunity for interpretation. The jewish people believed that every event had a meaning and interpreted their takeover as a message from God that they needed to clean up their acts and establish justice in their land, or be destroyed.
The main point here is that the way of nature does not let injustice prevail. God will make sure right and wrong are kept in check on the earth. God rules with a balance of mercy and justice, and this is because of His love. God shows that He loves us all equally through the diverse prophets he chose. The prophets were from all classes, and all held the same significance in the teaching of morals. All men, be they Kings or peasants, must follow the same morals set forth by the Divine Being which is God.