Why are people religious?
I'm not a religious person. My feelings, and my deep devotion to the Jews is rooted in our shared heritage, culture, values and history. Religion as its typically discussed doesn't have anything to do with it, That said, I've always been fascinated by religious practice, whether that be outside Judaism, such as Buddhist rituals, Muslim Salat, or closer to home, our own religious obligations and rituals, from wrapping tefillin, to keeping kosher, or the order in which we put on our shoes.
This substack post talks about the perspective of one religious Jew reading about religious "conversion" of other people (one Jewish), when they found religion. https://ireadthisovershabbos.substack.com/p/i-read-the-best-case-for-religion I haven't read Godstruck but it may go on my list of books to read since I find the topic interesting.
Have you read Godstruck?
Are you "religious"?
If so, can you say more about it? Do you believe in G-d? Did you have a moment that changed you?
I haven't read Godstruck but I am religious.
I spent most of my life secular. Like many secular Jews who were missing some kind of religiosity I studied Buddhism. For me about 9 years. There's something within non-duality that I think speaks to what I would now call the soul.
Anywho... the reason I'm religious is very simple. I woke up one day out of the blue in my late 40s and new I needed to go back to shul. Once back within regular Jewish religious practice I knew that I believed in Hashem. It wasn't some big magical thing. It wasn't some crisis transformation. I believe I was just called back to Hashem and so I do my best at carrying out mitzvos, studying, learning, etc.
I can't explain it better than that.
Now, look I have studied religion most of my life. I have a philosophy degree with a focus on religion and politics. But that was all very intellectual. And this wasn't.
However, that intellectual rigor is important to Jewish practice. I just spent a good amount of time this morning debating with my Rabbi during our weekly chavrusa why the Tanya's references to heaven and the firmament and it's core teaching of G-d's non-duality are complete contradictions. Great debate which will continue (when he goes and asks his more famous Rabbi dad for a better set of reasoning than he had).
So I'm religious because I know it and I'm religiously Jewish because that is my culture that I love. Coming back to the latter and embracing the former has been a really enjoyable journey for me later in life.
Thanks for sharing that.
My wife has helped me investigate my family history on my father's side- almost all of which was lost in the Holocaust. We've hired an expert in this, and already he's uncovered things and helped me fill in a bunch of gaps in my knowledge.
I can't really relate to the idea of G-d in the personal sense. I too studied Buddhism and I certainly can and do understand that feeling of oneness with the universe, but not a G-d that talks specifically to people or sets down rules.
For me, my spirituality has always been about the Jewish people, so I appreciate hearing the stories of others who are not just religious, but believers.
Theres a concept of non-duality in esoteric Judaism that applies to us in that the ego and self is not actually real. And if you take that a little further then it isn't really Hashem talking to us in the dualistic way you're describing as unbelievable (which makes sense) but rather Hashem talking to Hashem.
Anywho... I also like hearing other perspectives. The best thing about Judaism is that there really isn't some inherent need to be right. So, with some caveats, it's really easy to respect and affirm significant difference.