Levi Brackman's

What are Jews supposed to believe in? Is Judaism a religion of belief, or is it, as some have maintained, primarily one of practice? This is an age old question and one which Maimonides in the 1100’s tried to put to rest. He laid out a code of practice and simultaneously tried to establish theological principles that came to be known as Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith. The problem has been that there is little consistency within the Jewish tradition with regards the parameters of these principles. As Marc Shapiro argues in his book, “The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised,” the detailed interpretation and level of acceptance of those principles have differed greatly within traditional Jewish scholarship.

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It is indisputable that a disproportionate amount of secular Jews self identify as atheist or agnostics. The celebrated atheist Christopher Hitchens has suggested that this is because Jews carry an atheist gene. This is an interesting and arguably racist conclusion that I wholeheartedly disagree with.  Though it does make me think that Hitchens the atheist with Jewish lineage and many of the great Jewish theists have much in common.

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This is the time of year when we are supposed to introspect as individuals. No doubt, however, it would be a good time to examine ourselves as a nation as well. There are many problems facing us as Jews. Anti-Semitism is on the rise all over the world. Iran is getting closer to developing a nuclear bomb and no one seems to have the ability to stop them.  The White House is inhabited by a person who is pressuring Israel to act contrary to its long term interests. Jews have been hurt by the fallout of the financial crises and the massive fraud of Bernard Madoff. The list goes on.

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Writing in the UK’s Guardian Newspaper this week my friend Dan Rickman quotes a new book by Sol Schimmel that claims that Fundamentalism is characterized by "fear of truth." He then goes on to say that “Orthodox Jews are fundamentalist in their belief in the divine revelation of the Torah to which they cling to unreasonably in the face of evidence from modern Biblical scholarship.”

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