Cyberthought by Rabbi Zelizer -- July 14, 2008

Frequent questions to the Rabbi about Judaism. His answers will be appearing as Cyberthoughts over time.

Question # 3

Q. Can one be a good Conservative Jew and not believe in God?
A. Answer. Yes and No. There is a classic passage in the Eicha Rabati where God says: "Hal Vai Oti Azvu V'Torati Shamaru." "Hal 'Vai the children of Israel should abandon me but observe my Torah."Talmud - "As long as my children obey the law." The implication of that is that it is the observance of the halachah which defines a Jew, rather than a belief system.

On the other hand, I have just concluded teaching a semester course here in "What Can We Jews Believe in the 21st Century" and I will continue in the Fall with the second half of that course - which I am preparing now. I think that the question is really a bit different "Can one be a good Conservative Jew without having some concept of a God to whom we are obligated?" Those of you who studied with me know that there are diverse viewpoints of God in the Conservative Movement - from Kaplan to Heschel to Dorff to Schulweis and others. One can be a Conservative Jew without believing in God, but without believing in some kind of God I think the impetus to be a Jew is severely muted and will not have much staying power.