Missed opportunities
I've thought about writing something like this for a while. About all the chances in the past century that the Jewish community had to do something like prosyltize in the years after WW2, seeking more converts to Judaism.
Yes, seriously. How come, all those years when there was the opportunity, nobody who's a theological specialist ever thought of setting up outfits that would try to encourage more people not of Jewish race to convert to the similarly named religion? The 1950s would've been a perfect time, and if done in Europe, could've provided some much needed backup. If there were any non-Jews who felt Christianity wasn't satisfying enough, they could've
Yet all these decades, no rabbis or anybody else specializing in religion ever thought of doing it, and IMHO, that's exactly why we're in the terrible situation we find ourselves in today involving Islamofascism. Just think, if conversion to Judaism through prosyltization had been worked on seriously, Israel could've been in a much better state over the years.
Unfortunately, my best guess is that even after WW2, Jewish advocates were clearly scared of anti-semitism turning up if they went on prosyltization campaigns, proving that cowardice - precisely what led to nazi Germany's rise in the first place - still reigned supreme. I remember when a relative said that even after WW2, no rabbis ever encouraged their followers to bear more children to replace those lost. It's weird how they can supposedly campaign for going to war to stop an evil entity from annihilating innocents in Europe, yet at home, they do nothing to help replace what was lost.
There's also lifestyles like the Satmar Haredis to consider. It wouldn't shock me if such cultures discouraged people from trying Judaism, because over the years, quite a few sources went out of their way to make it look like the Haredi lifestyle represents Judaism in almost every way. That may have turned off some potential converts who might be more encouraged if they weren't led to believe the religion is overtly stringent.
Now, of course, we have the problem of the Haredis hijacking the chief rabbinate in the country, a division that's outworn its usefulness because nobody should have to be recognized as a citizen in this country by ways of their religious leanings. And the rabbinate in its current form could make things a lot harder.
All these problems are the result of politicians and other narrow sources who acted with incredible negligence ever since the founding of the modern state of Israel. That's why I think there's just so many missed opportunities that may never be possible to accomplish.
But if it is possible, then that's why anybody who cares is going to have to start working to make improvements. Then, if Judaism can serve as an inspiration for non-Jews, they should by all means do whatever it takes to make the religion welcoming for everybody who could use it.
Yes, seriously. How come, all those years when there was the opportunity, nobody who's a theological specialist ever thought of setting up outfits that would try to encourage more people not of Jewish race to convert to the similarly named religion? The 1950s would've been a perfect time, and if done in Europe, could've provided some much needed backup. If there were any non-Jews who felt Christianity wasn't satisfying enough, they could've
Yet all these decades, no rabbis or anybody else specializing in religion ever thought of doing it, and IMHO, that's exactly why we're in the terrible situation we find ourselves in today involving Islamofascism. Just think, if conversion to Judaism through prosyltization had been worked on seriously, Israel could've been in a much better state over the years.
Unfortunately, my best guess is that even after WW2, Jewish advocates were clearly scared of anti-semitism turning up if they went on prosyltization campaigns, proving that cowardice - precisely what led to nazi Germany's rise in the first place - still reigned supreme. I remember when a relative said that even after WW2, no rabbis ever encouraged their followers to bear more children to replace those lost. It's weird how they can supposedly campaign for going to war to stop an evil entity from annihilating innocents in Europe, yet at home, they do nothing to help replace what was lost.
There's also lifestyles like the Satmar Haredis to consider. It wouldn't shock me if such cultures discouraged people from trying Judaism, because over the years, quite a few sources went out of their way to make it look like the Haredi lifestyle represents Judaism in almost every way. That may have turned off some potential converts who might be more encouraged if they weren't led to believe the religion is overtly stringent.
Now, of course, we have the problem of the Haredis hijacking the chief rabbinate in the country, a division that's outworn its usefulness because nobody should have to be recognized as a citizen in this country by ways of their religious leanings. And the rabbinate in its current form could make things a lot harder.
All these problems are the result of politicians and other narrow sources who acted with incredible negligence ever since the founding of the modern state of Israel. That's why I think there's just so many missed opportunities that may never be possible to accomplish.
But if it is possible, then that's why anybody who cares is going to have to start working to make improvements. Then, if Judaism can serve as an inspiration for non-Jews, they should by all means do whatever it takes to make the religion welcoming for everybody who could use it.
Labels: anti-semitism, Christianity, haredi corruption, islam, Israel, Judaism, racism
