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Jewish Youth in Search of God: As Viewed by a Contemporary
Jackie Acker
Each human being, each member of the so-called « Youth Scene », is a unique creation of God with his own experiences, needs, talents and aspirations; therefore, each human being, each youth, must find his own way to God. When one defines the word « Youth » with the adjective « Jewish », and one limits the context to the British scene, of which I am a part, then one presupposes a common history and religious tradition which limits the number of the ways natural to us in our search for God, but variety still exists.
Martin Buber, quoting a Chassidic source, wrote: « God limits the godliness he has in infinity, and narrows it down to the focus of the material world in which man exists. And there he assigns every man his thought and word and deed according to the day, the place and the person, and hides therein the signs to lead man to his service. And so a man should immerse himself in the task of understanding the signs which are cloaked in thought and word and deed and so given to him in particular, in his work and in his affairs, in everything God appoints for him day by day. »
We can, therefore, look at some of the ways through which young British Jews are conducting their search for God, but it must be remembered that really an individual can only write completely truly and fully about his own way, his own search; general tendencies can be outlined, but, as with all generalities, these tendencies naturally contain some distortions of the truth.
One of the first questions that should be considered, is what are Jewish youth actually searching for and how do they seek to achieve success in their search? Are they seeking proof that God exists? Is it knowledge about God? Or is it an awareness of the presence of a transcendental being and an attempt to develop a relationship with that being and so add meaning to their lives? There are groups of young Jews who do ask for proof of God's existence. It is a sort of half-hostile, often aggressive question that is thrown out, rather as the gauntlet used to be thrown out in days gone by, as a challenge to Rabbis, religious teachers and youth leaders. These young people seek to reconcile the scientific knowledge they acquire from society with their longing for the transcendental and in their search they are little different from many Christian youths.
Our tradition too has its set proofs, but like those produced by the Mediaeval Church, they are not completely logical; they cannot stand up to scientific probing. Within our tradition there is a story that illustrates this. A famous Rabbi from the Talmud asked his students, « Do you believe in God? » « Of course », the students replied, « Don't you? » The Rabbi replied « No ». « What! » the astounded students cried, « what do you mean? » The Rabbi smiled and said, « Do I believe that I am sitting on a chair? It is not a matter of academic belief, it is a matter of trust! >> Greek logic and religion are strange bedfellows. In the end, our youths have to just make up their minds whether to accept God's existence as a working hypothesis and continue the search from that standpoint, or whether to adopt the attitude of « I'll wait for God to show me he exists and then I'll believe in him and try to serve him ». In the latter case the actual search is abandoned. In the former case the youth may concern himself with the other questions. Probably there are very few people who are concerned with searching just for academic knowledge about God, although many faced with Jewish history and especially the Holocaust, and the state of the world today, raise questions concerning the extent of God's power and knowledge, the extent of man's free will, the question of goodness and evil as emanating from God, and other such familiar chestnuts.
Some groups, because of the tragic events of the past and present, do not necessarily deny God's existence, but they deny that his existence has any relevance for them. God may or may not have created the world; that no longer concerns them. What faces them now is a worldwide mess and they feel obligated to try and ameliorate the problems of others and to reform, or if necessary, revolutionize the Establishment. In rejecting God, they also reject the whole idea of a Messianic future brought about through religious means and so they set about trying to bring about all the wonders of that age here and now. They seek meaning for their lives, but seek it within the human element, with the protest meetings and peace rallies. They feel that they have understood God's essence and found itwanting, so they have abandoned their search for the transcendental.
Others, when faced with the same problems, have involved themselves in study sessions to try to clarify their thoughts. Within the world of Jewish youth, many opportunities for such study sessions exist, each with their own particular bias depending on their stance within the community. For the traditionally minded there are, for example, study groups. For the progressive community there are summer and winter synagogue youth camps and conferences organised by the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Hillel Houses and the Jewish societies provide a valuable centre for debating groups and lectures for university students.
All these facilities are used, it is true, by only a minority of Jewish youth. But these young people come from a wide variety of backgrounds to seek some help, some guidance in their search for knowledge about God. They seek an answer to their questions and support from each other when they realise that although the questions are interesting and meaningful in terms of their own religious development, yet ultimately we can only receive the answer that Job receives from God: « Who are we to understand the infinite greatness of the being we call God? »
Some recognise from the start that the questions and the answers cannot be completely rational, that pure scholasticism makes the path too dry, too arid, so they turn to mysticism to learn about God. Of course, in our culture for some young Jews, this means the taking of drugs and the following of Indian gurus. But their path, both their means and their goal, I would consider takes them beyond the realm of Judaism and the Jewish concept of God. The mystics who remain within our tradition are attracted mainly to the Chassidic movement, especially to the Lubavitch group.
The Lubavitch Rabbis are very active in the universities, where they have done tremendous work attracting many apathetic Jewish students back to the study of Judaism and the search for God. Their whole life is bound up with a love for the tradition and it is permeated with a trust in God and an immense feeling of joy that they can serve him. Through this joy, through their singing and dancing, through their study and the carrying out of the commandments, they believe that they can come to know God, and their trust is so strong that they inspire others to join them in their search.
They believe that they can come both to know about God and to experience him in their lives, and build up a living relationship with him. And it is this goal that is in fact the aim of most Jewish youth who are seekers after God. For it is not much use just to trust in God's existence or to know about God's attributes and essence unless one can feel that that trust and knowledge has some relevance in one's life, that one can somehow experience his presence every day and add meaning to the direction of one's life. In traditional Judaism, one hoped to achieve this state through the paths of study, action and service, and most youths involved on the search follow these well-worn paths. The same organizations as outlined above present opportunities for these students to occupy themselves with study, with Torah. Through studying the Bible or the Talmud or other Jewish literature, glimpses can be gleaned of how other great men came to know and to love God, and we today can still gain some help in our search through drawing on their experiences. Through the same study we can sometimes grow to understand the part that God plays in history. But apart from the use to which we can put the fruits of our studies in our quest, Judaism has always maintained that to study is good in itself. In fact, it is said that one can interrupt one's prayers for study, but not one's study for prayer.
However, study alone is not sufficient. In the Fathers it is written: « One whose wisdom is greater than his deeds, what is he like? A tree whose branches are many and its roots few. And the wind comes and roots it up and overturns it on its face... But one whose deeds exceed hiswisdom, what is he like? A tree whose branches are few and its roots many; so that even if all the winds that there are in the world came and blew upon it, they stir it not from its place. »
Amongst Jewish youth in England, there are many who equate deeds with the call to social action. They help in charity works both on the local synagogue or youth club level or nationwide through an organization called Jewish Youth Voluntary Service. It must, of course, be recognized not all who are involved in these activities are seeking through them a way to God. Many motives are involved. Some, as was stated before, busy themselves with such tasks almost to spite God — « We can manage without you ». Others find that the work fulfills their basic desire to help the less fortunate. Some get involved because they find it a good way of meeting other young Jews and identifying with the Jewish community. But those who seek through this work a refining of their souls and a way of carrying out God's commandments as well as a means of alleviating the suffering of others, they can, I believe, be said to be seeking God.
Yet others equate deeds with the carrying out of all the commandments enumerated in our texts, and not only those concerned with social justice. They find that the self-discipline of carrying out certain rituals at certain times and the abstention from certain foods or acts gives a rhythm to their lives that helps them in their search for God. They believe that through carrying out his will, they can forge a bond with him. Through the commandments, they feel that they can sanctify every act they perform, every morsel of food that they eat. The commandments give meaning to their lives, they are God's servants. The way of public prayer as a means of searching for God is not so popular. For those involved in the Lubavitch movement or for those who observe the commandments strictly, public prayer is considered invaluable. But for many young people, it has become an empty ritual. This is partly because of a language barrier, but in the main it is because synagogues in England have become identified with the Establishment. For many congregants, one doesn't go to synagogue to pray but to assert one's place in the middle class, materially comfortable, Jewish suburban life. Often, young people feel that prayers have become so well controlled, so surrounded by pomp and ceremony, that any contact with the transcendental has been carefully shielded from the congregation.
Outlined above are some of the answers to the first question that was asked, namely, what are Jewish youth aiming for and how do they set about achieving those aims? A second question, however, must be asked, one that is equally important: how many youths are actually concerned in this search?
I would not be tempted to even risk guessing a percentage; probably many flirt with the problem at some point in their lives, but I would suggest that very few young people become really involved in the search. For one thing, the search can be very frightening; for another, the majority of Anglo-Jewish youth are concerned mainly with the problem of identity.
Jewish youth tend to ask the question, « Who are we? What makes us different? How can I show that I belong? » Ultimately, these questions should lead to questions concerning God, but normally, other means are found which satisfy their probings. In addition, quite often the society around theni discourages further search.
It is a phenomenon of the Jewish scene that the same activities, when undertaken by different people, or even by the same people at different times or when they are in a different mood,can sometimes act as a path to God and at other times act as a barrier or as a substitute for the real search. For example, many young people either go to Israel or become involved in raising money for that country. It is true that some see their relationship to the Land in religious terms; our tradition and our liturgy abound with phrases stressing the mystical relation between the Land, the People and God. The majority, however, look to Israel to solve their identity crisis. They can say to the society around them and to themselves: « See, I'm Jewish. Don't I support Israel? » It gives them a sense of security, a feeling that they belong. They even do a useful job, but there is no attempt or desire to relate their work to God.
For one must try to avoid over-simplifying the search for God that takes place amongst Jewish youth. Each individual involved in the search will take his own path. Sometimes one is searching, sometimes one is hiding from that search. It all depends on the frame of mind one is in at that moment in time, what needs one is hoping will be met and what questions are uppermost in one's mind. It also depends on God, for in Jewish tradition there is one theory which tells us that there are times when God is near and when our search may be rewarded, but there are other moments when he is far off and hiding himself from man.
Editor's note:
See article « Jewish Mysticism and Jewish Youth » by Byron L. Sherwin, reviewed in this issue.
Jackie Acker is studying at the Leo Baeck College, London, England, and has been involved with the Youth Section of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
